Review: The Hope Conspiracy
Band: The Hope Conspiracy
Album: True Nihilist
Label: Deathwish Inc
Release Date: 7/3
Genre: Hardcore
5 /5
The Hope Conspiracy has long been one of the hardcore world’s angriest, most feverish bands. Since their debut on the scene a decade ago in ‘99, they’ve been slowed down but never stopped. And this go around, as usual with this band and their love for the EP (as they have 4 EP releases prior to this), they’ve returned to their short, blasted album releasing True Nihilist. Keeping with their path of progression, Hope Con’s songs have grown thicker and more urgent. In their earlier stages, singer Kevin Baker’s vocals were slightly higher and the songs were not nearly as dark. Once Hang Your Cross hit the streets, they’d never be the same. From that point on, what once was fast, blunt, and shining hardcore has become dense, dark, and brooding displays of both musical and vocal aggression.
So a lot of you may be asking, it’s only 3 songs, why spend money on something that will for 10 minutes? Simple questions deserve simple answers. The Hope Conspiracy is a cornerstone in the hardcore community (at one time or another featuring ex members of Piecemeal, The Suicide File, Adamantium, and American Nightmare) and True Nihilist is possibly the best work of the band’s ten year career. We can all only hope as music fans that the EP is just a teaser for a full length record that is scheduled to come out soon. Opening up with “In The Shadow of God”, Baker lays out his honest opinion on religion. Backed by the guitar work of Neeraj Kane (the band’s original guitarist who returned in 2006), the track is packed with power, amazing amounts of furious power.
Rip-roaring through the middle of the EP is “Greed Taught, War Driven, Born to Die”. If the name of the song isn’t enough of a description for you, nothing I write will be. This song deserves to be listened to. But both of these tracks build up to the anchor of the EP, “The Dismal Tide”. Clocking in at nearly five minutes, this is an epic track for this band who finishes most songs in less than three. Starting with a build up of resonating guitars and and drums that sound like the hunt is on, bitterness isn’t a good enough word for this track. “Fear spreads like terminal cancer” is the opening line of the track, casting the story for the rest of the track. Backed and carried by the thick bass lines of Jonas Feinberg (the only member of the band that has stayed constant from start to now other than vocalist Kevin Baker) and carried out by some of Kane’s dirty rock influenced riffs, this is serious business. Only death, serious bodily injury, or a complete world apocalypse could stop Hope Con now.
Track Listing:
1. In the Shadow of God
2. Greed Taught, War Driven, Born to Die
3. The Dismal Tide
