Revolution Within's "Straight from Within" - HMT Review

"Straight from Within"
 Revolution Within

reviewed by Grownman

Revolution Within hails from Portugal and have put out a pretty impressive album of metal with a strong thrash groove in the vein of bands like Chimaira and the latest Soulfly records. The album begins with a nice intro track full of rhythmic thrash style riffs, chugs and almost post hardcore bass/drums.

The true fun begins on track 2. "Pure Hate" is a fast paced stomper with a ton of riffage and roaring vocals. The vocal delivery is Mark Hunter meets Max Cavalera with a little bit of Jamey Jasta sprinkled in. All of those names I hold in high regard.

This a tight band with a nice combination of thrash and modern metal riffs over a galloping rhythm section that's pretty precise. What surprises me is the scarcity of breakdowns that I'd find in the recordings of the bands I mentioned earlier.

I jump to track 3 "Without Recognition" which opens with a Lamb of God type of groove that will show up throughout this track as the band plunges forward at break neck pace. The lead solo is a nice change in pace at the latter half of the song and really showcases the real talent of the lead.

Track 4 - "Straight From Within" follows the pattern of the first two tracks until it breaks into a quick breakdown, solo and more discernible chorus.

Track 5 - We segue into "Pull the Trigger" which begins with a roaring and howling intro before quickly proceeding back into the galloping riff fest. A nice catchy chorus starts to develop with similarities once again to Chimaira and the latest Soulfly releases. The song develops a nice groove as the band rolls through time changes and comes back around to a strong chorus.

Track 6 - "Revenge Now" would fit on any of the latest Hatebreed releases. The vocals slow down and have a slight echo during the catchy chorus which is a nice change. The track has much more of the metal core sound that these type of vocals really work well with. That said, this song is still fast as hell as blast beats and almost post hardcore guitars circulate around the final screams at it's close.

Track 7 - "Bleed" is a nice combination of the "core" sound with the once again galloping rhythm section. The band definitely has a signature and at times these songs can start to sound a bit alike. At this point in the album I was ready for a change up and was waiting for this song to offer something different.

Track 8 - Luckily "Evil(lution)" does just that as it opens with a nice machine gun style drum intro. Already listening to this track I can see that the band is switching it up slightly and giving off that Sepultura/Soulfly vibe. When the band is at it's best is when they give the listener a little breathing room like the very brief soloing, a change up of vocals and the rare breakdown that's delivered toward the end of this song.

Track 9 - "Only the Stronger will Survive" is too much of the same for me as I listen to this. Fast, heavy and the vocals delivered in the same style all the way through. Being the shortest song on the album it's easily forgettable.

Track 10 - "Unleash the Anger" has some nice opening riffage and drumming. The vocals are slightly deeper which compliments the menace and tone of the band on this one. The chorus is allowed to be just that "A CHORUS" which really gives the listener time to enjoy it. This song is probably the most anthemic of the bunch and probably the one I'd sing along to the most in concert.

Track 11 - "Anger Mode On" is a stand out track on this album as it comes to a close. Guest vocalist Bruno Capela (echidna) delivers a Mark Hunter'esk guttural style that gives this song a bit more dimension. There's a longer gap of instrumentation which really is the highlight in an album chock full of roaring vocals. It's a welcomed change that I think this album could stand to use a bit more of.

Overall solid effort! I would recommend this to anyone really into the latest soulfly and chimaira albums. Full of thrash riffs, machine gun style drumming and roaring vocals. Towards the mid point of the cd it gets a bit repetitive but a few variations help to carry the rest of the album to a punishing finish.

http://rastilho.bandcamp.com/album/straight-from-within