Search - December :: Praying Hoping Nothing

Some of the best of a new generation of metal!

06/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It sometimes seems that metal has become a stagnant pool ofretarded incest. Every band appears to be trying to sound so much liketheir influences that they produce nothing original or worth while. Bands like December are metals saviors.December spouts complex yet accessible songs that are powerful, brutal, and most importantly memorable. They are a massive wall of sound that can be compared to (not to be read as "sounds like") Meshuggah, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Living Sacrifice. However, unlike those bands, they focus less on patterns and complexity and more on song structure and moving dynamics. Although they are clearly musicians who take pride in what they are doing and are trying to push the envelope in a new way, they are in no way a "musicians band" and can be appreciated by all. Praying Hoping Nothing is a record that will repeatedly find itself in your CD player. It has cool, creepy arwork, great production, illegible lyrics, a huge sound, great songs. What else do you want?"

Third Time's The Charm

Timothy K. Schwader | Austin, TX United States | 11/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Praying, Hoping, Nothing. Where to begin? This is the third release this album has seen, first on indie Negative Attention (with the Fear cover and Buddy Rich sample included here), then on Matt Zane's Inzane label (with the amazing "1of2" and two other bonus tracks found here), now on the band's current home of Earache Records. This edition is by far the one to own, as it includes all the bonus stuff from the first two plus the most amazing cover songs you'll ever hear and incredible artwork from the best artist working on record sleeves: Jay Bailey. The new tracks include the Skunk Anansie track "Selling Jesus," which is incredible originally and somehow even better here; "Seemingly Endless Time" originally by the venerable Death Angel; and "Ace Of Spades" originally (of course) from the legendary Motorhead. December more than do justice to these tracks. They annihilate them, make them their own, and have fun doing it. Overall, PHN is not quite as crazy or abrasive as their Earache debut, "The Lament Configuration," but is certainly still in that spooky math-metal territory. The three new cover songs mentioned above were recorded after "Lament..." and find the band in a headspace even more "out there" than that album's... but wait until you hear Mark Moots' clean vocals shine over his screams on these songs! The best growls in metal, the best shrieks in metal, and a crazy-good singing voice too. It doesn't seem fair! And with Jason Thomas' second-to-no-one drumming, Asa Dakin's tight jazz bass-playing, and Julian Peach's WWIII guitar riffing... this band is in a league of their own. No one does this kind of music like December. (Keep in mind that the lineup for this album featured Kyle Thomas on bass and Jason Rickman on second guitar--aweseome musicians both, just not as tightly chaotic as the four-piece sound with Asa on bass.) If you are into Mastadon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Cephalic Carnage, Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage, Napalm Death... really anything even kind of good in metal, you should fall hard for December. And, to elaborate on the art, Jay Bailey (www.jaybailey.com) is the new king of the album sleeve. Check out his work here, on "The Lament Configuration," and on the new Goatwhore disc, "Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun," and become a believer. All hail December!"