Review Summary: The Shape of...oh, wait. This isn't Refused...but it's still pretty good.
It is very hard to try and not distance yourself from the idea that The Rise might sound a lot like Refused, and this can do one of three things to you:
1: Instantly turn you off to this band, based on the fact that you feel like they're ripping off Refused.
2: Make you like it because it reminds you of some elements of Refused's sound put to good use.
3: Make you ask, “Just who are Refused?”
Number 1 might be an initial response for the well-traveled Sputniker. Answering with number 2 will most certainly be from those with an open mind, or at least want to see what I'm talking about, or to see if it is even true. Number 3 will be a safe response for some, and it might sprout a safe inquiry into a separate musical venture within itself that can be equally rewarding (Go get 'The Shape Of Punk To Come' already!).
It doesn't really offer anything drastically new to the game of post hardcore or punk, but what it lacks in absolute originality, it really makes up for in effort. Everything depicts a nice degree of sincerity in their work. The music embodies their sense of rebellion, raw aggression, and the apparent need for the occasional techno dance interval.
The album starts off with a very infectious techno beat to get you right in the mood to get punched in the face with their sonic assault, and the rest of 'Signal To Noise' loops in and out of fury and rave.
For what it's worth, 'Signal To Noise' is an energetic album, comprised of spastic riffage, Tear-it-down, revolution invoking, negative utopian vocal imagery, and techno beats, with a few mechanical effects and samples thrown in. It is solid, but it might be garbage to you. You decide.
My Favorite Tracks:
The Fallacy of Retrospective Determinism
The Concept Of Transience
Sophisticated Approach
