Review Summary: Ryan's Hope straddle the line between pop punk and a punky thrash, and give you the feeling they have quite the future in store.
Do you remember when Punk was fun, instead of worrying about being more punk than others? Ryan's Hope does, and their new album, Apocalypse in Increments gives you that feeling you got when you heard your first punk record: Absolutely Baptized to the sound.
Why am I metaphorically phellating this album? Because all the qualities it gives: Their powerful rhythm section, consisting of their bassist Nick McClenigan, who doesn't generally follow rhythm, but adds nice touches to the sound, like the awesome lines in "The Carpathian". Then the drum work of Greg Alltop is simple, yet very effective for their heavier pop punk sound. The real fun to this album is the guitar, simple at times ("My Motivation, Your Demise"), really busts out the nice riffage ("By the Sword"). Guitarist/Singer Terry Morrow adds his great voice to the mix, which sounds like a young Nikolai from Millencolin.
The crown jewels of Apocalypse in Increments is the hooks it throws your way at every angle, from the bouncy jam "My Motivation, Your Demise" to the extremely catchy sing-along "Majority". Some songs start as super catchy pop punk, but end with punk rock Badassitude ("Reiteration"), and some are just speedy the whole way through ("Haven't Got The Time"). There are breakdowns at time, like in "By The Sword", but after listening to the song a few times, you can't imagine the song without it.
There are some flaws to this record unfortunately, after the first 6 songs, it seems as though some things start to sound the same, and the track "My Decision" doesn't seem to be a good standalone track, but only a good lead in for the powerful "When Life Steals Life". Also, the end of "The Ranks" seems to lag a little with the gang shouts.
With those flaws in mind, Apocalypse in Increments is just a good time waiting to be blasting through your speakers, and it definitely made me feel like I was listening to a punk record for the first time. Ryan's Hope has achieved something with this album that a lot of upstart pop punk bands can't do: Have catchy hooks but still keep the edge that puts the punk in pop punk.
