Review Summary: It is another Hardcore album.
Restraining Order’s
Locked In Time is 21 minutes of effective, pure hardcore. It is simple, yet it is as loud and intense as all other similar groups.
Misled demonstrates the best of the band's bouncy and almost catchy riffage. The punchy and snappy vocal work of
Fight Back makes for infectious shouts within its chorus, leading to the track being another highlight off the album, with its high octane ending only solidifying this fact.
Wouldn’t You Agree is filled with punky hooks that are backed up by, further, earwormy guitar riffs. However, they certainly don’t stray far from the typical hardcore sound. This is arguably their biggest strength, as they do it very efficiently, but it is also their biggest weakness. So essentially, Restraining Orders style is nothing new. They do their style pretty well, but the formula is not shaken enough to make them standout or to make them memorable. You have definitely heard of hundreds of other albums that are exactly the same as this, and more than likely, you have heard some that have done this style even better than what is found in
Locked In Time. Furthermore, what does not help them in this case is that their lyrics are so standard for the genre that they lack any identity or charisma whatsoever, outside of how they are being expressed by the vocalist. To put it simply, there are bands that are punchier, snappier, and bouncier who have a wider variety of hooks and lyrics that add further character to the music that is being played.
