Demo Collection I
Rustbelt Rock Reviews
By: Z.M. Delgado
Zackolantern.com
Volume #21: Demo Collection: Church&State, Paradox Rift, Rabid Reason, Increased Damage, For Absent Friends
2022
In this go around, I have decided to give a little love to a few acts whose demos I have picked up around town or online. When I was younger, demo’s were normally shitty basement tapes, recorded on a boombox. They were crackling cassette tapes with barely intelligible songs. Most times, being privy to a new demo was more punishment than reward. Bands Demos these days are often of high quality and should not be brushed off. In many cases they come from incredible acts with talent, who actually kill it live. Here are five Northeast Ohio demo’s and my thoughts on each.
Church&State
Church&State – Assorted Bandcamp Singles
Church&State are a political Crossover band who you may remember from RbRR #12. Encapsulating elements from both Thrash Metal and Hardcore Punk, C&S are a hard, fast, aggressive act. They deal in dark sociopolitical issues, and essentially they write angry music for angry people. The four tracks, “Human Progress”, “Pariah,” “M.I.C.” and “Stupid” are available on Bandcamp. They are all tight, hard, fast Rock N’ Roll. The recording quality is good. The songs are great and are a fair representation of C&S’s live energy. Highly recommend.
Paradox Rift
Paradox Rift
Paradox Rift describe themselves as an Experimental Death Metal band. This band was also featured in RbRR #12. I recall their setlist being of exceptional heaviness. I grabbed up their two song demo, “Dismembered By Dogs.” This contains the title track as well as “Feral Soul.” Both songs are good, though I prefer the latter. Paradox has a fairly straight forward Death Metal approach, however they do add in some atmospheric qualities, nice melodic breaks and some dog sound effects that are a bit unsettling. The recording is of professional quality. I would recommend you see Paradox Rift and decide for yourself. However if a show is not an option I believe this demo will give you a very good idea of what to expect. Definitely worth a listen.
Rabid Reason
Rabid Reason – “Damned if You do, Damned if You Don’t”
Rabid Reason if a Punk outfit from Akron. This four song Demo is a bit on the old side, predating COVID. However, it is a hard, energetic Punk recording and I think it deserves some attention. “This City” opens the collection strong. It is followed by “Tired, Jaded, Cynical and Sick,” which contains some nice call and response vocals. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” is my favorite from the collection. I particularly enjoy its guitar work. “Gone Too Far” also has some nice riffage, and a heavy chorus that is just the sort of inflammatory delivery that makes this genre so powerful. If you’re a fan of hard, pit worthy punk, straight from the streets of Akron, then Rabid Reason is undoubtedly the band for you. Shoplift a can of Aquanet and put your Mohawks way up for “Rabid Reason!”
Increased Damage
Increased Damage is a Cleveland area Alternative Rock act, conceived and performed solely by Mr. Robert Carrick. He sent me three songs from his catalogue: “Missing,” “Tired of You” and “Remnant.” I find them to be very reminiscent of Weezer and other Shoegaze 90’s bands that I heard a lot in my younger years. These are solid songs for their genre. The music is very good, and I find myself being impressed by the guitar solos. My only issue, comes with most Alt Rock in this vein. The vocals are sometimes intentionally a bit off time or out of key. Despite this the lyrics do convey a legitimate emotional power, and the performance ties into it well. If and when Increased Damage transitions into live performances, I would be interested to see how the show compares to the tape. If you like Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins or Cake this band might be perfect for you.
For Absent Friends
For Absent Friends – “Inferno”
For Absent Friends is a Metalcore band from Cleveland. I ordered their three song demo when it became available on social media. The first song “Inferno” is absolute fire as its name implies: Heavy guitar, grating vocals and a great breakdown at the end. The second song, “Blow the Barrel a Kiss” starts out in the same vein, but with an even better riff. I was well on my way to loving this band… but then the clean vocals came in. I hate when bands do this. They take a perfectly good song and muck it up with some sad chorus. It doesn’t help that these vocals are delivered in a flat, almost bored, tone. If this was a deliberate choice, I would say it was a poor one. The clean takes are jarring and pull the listener out of the moment. The third song, “Throw me the Idol, I’ll Throw You the Whip,” falls victim to the same style singing. Despite this it does contain a very impressive guitar solo. For Absent Friends is clearly a talented band. I really enjoy their music and the snarling vocals are great. If I was to give them a piece of advice it would be this: Rerecord the clean stuff, or ditch it outright and stick to what you do best. Stay heavy, you’re very good at it. The sing-songy shit only brings you down.
So there you have it: Five bands, five demos. I hope these brief blurbs spark some interest in you. First and foremost I write these reviews to try to connect local musicians with their audience and vice versa. If you like the genres mentioned, please take the time to look up these bands and give them your support. I like to say, When we lift each other up, we elevate the entire scene, or as the wise blood’s told us “A rising tide raises all ships.” Let’s help out our artists, our scene and ourselves by giving our musicians the time and respect they deserve.
If you have a Band, Recording or Event you would like reviewed, check out Rustbelt Rock Review #0 for submission guidelines. I look forward to hearing from you!
Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt!
-Z.M. Delgado
Rustbelt Rock Review
Zackolantern.com
7/2/2022
Church&State
Facebook/churchandstateohio
Paradox Rift
Rabid Reason
https://Rabidreason.bandcamp.com
Increased Damage
www.instagram.com/increased_damage/
For Absent Friends
@Forabsentfriendsofficial
