Dropdead/Totalitar

RYAN:

This hardcore mini-monster, weighing in at 9 minutes and 9 songs is fucking awesome. My full-on hardcore days are pretty much over but I can still spot a good HC record when I am smacked in the ears with one.
My 1st introduction to Dropdead was about 11 years ago (damn_is that possible?) at the Newspeak Block party. My lame band was playing the rock-o-rama with like 20 other bands downtown, and a few slots after us were Dropdead. I was pretty thrown back by their now trademark 30 second songs overflowing with political themes. I think I was playing harmonica in my band…so lame. These guys rocked.
There is something about this new recording that sounds really good to me. The production and even the song compositions remind me of the good old days of Nuclear Assault, S.O.D. and the Crumbsuckers. Not whole songs mind you, just little snippits. The breaks, bridges and chord progressions are super tight. Tracks 2,3 and 4 have a lot of what I am talking about.
Though I like the later Totalitar tracks OK, I am not as huge a fan of the Totalitar songs. I know these guys are long time heavy hitters, but the production is thinner than I like and the singer’s voice is not as individual as, say, Dropdead’s. These 3 songs are still pretty good; I just do not think that they are quite as rockin as the Dropdead tracks.
Take a listen, then go get it.