Integrity
Those Who Fear Tomorrow


5.0
classic

Review

by ResidentNihilist USER (18 Reviews)
November 21st, 2013 | 23 replies


Release Date: 1991 | Tracklist

Review Summary: 'The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist.'

If anyone has ever seen the ending of the Blair Witch Project as Heather is attacked by persons unknown, the most terrifying aspect of that scene many would attribute to the implications of Heather's terrified screaming. On the contrary though, what perhaps makes this scene more terrifying is the sheer emptiness of it; the monochromatic colour of the shots, the basement setting, even the fact that neither the audience or Mike see what happens to Heather as she screams out to a world of forced apathy. It's a very paradoxical yet very fitting ending to a film that is all about a candid descent into Hell. We don't get the payoff because in the end we are too scared to look at our own monstrous scars. We aren't the ones who descended into Hell, they did and they're paying the price, not us. In a sense that's the barrier between audience and product that Integrity destroyed on their debut.

Born from a mix of botched Puritanism, Charles Manson and misanthropy, Those Who Fear Tomorrow was (and still is) the game changer. Just as Varg did for black metal, this album redifined what was considered dark within the hardcore genre. Integrity took the the template of NY hardcore, pushed out the tired old lyrical themes and guitar tones before replacing them with the occult, murder and a dirty, distorted guitar tone reminiscent of GISM on steroids. The result? Utter madness, a brutal fist fight, the Jonestown Massacre and a hallucinogenic nightmare of Biblical proportions all rolled into one. It's complete chaos yet on here all of these elements work together better than any of their influences could dream of. Riff flows into riff with an unearing ease and catchiness that belies the darkness of the album while Iommi-esque leads fly off at exactly the right spots; the bass shines at the right intervals and anchors everything together like a steel tree; the drumming is forceful and concise; and Dwid's vocal performance is perhaps one of the most powerful in all of metal, his demonic barking and shrieking resonating every word with a rage that feels both frightening but believable.

One criticism that could be levelled against this album is that perhaps borrows too heavily from it's influences, that it's perhaps just Bringin' It Down with a little bit more distortion added on. While there's no denying that some riffs do feel as if they've been copied (see 'Diehard' and 'In Contrast of Sin') the band's sense of melody and that extra layer of distortion pushes these riffs into infinitely more pleasing forms. Add to that a huge sounding, nuts and bolts production and what's created is a macabre scrapbook that pulses with a raw, unfettered anti-life. This is vintage Integrity, free of pretensions that would haunt later albums and screaming to nothing and no one. It's the sound of a band caught in their own muddled Hell in the basement of a rotting house but this time there is no turning away. This is their truth, their darkness and they are completely unapologetic about it. That is what makes this album a bona fide classic.



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user ratings (339)
4.1
excellent
other reviews of this album
witchesandbells (4.5)
The original metalcore album that was born out of confusion, insanity, and Cleveland street life. S...

HSThomas (5)
A forty-eight minute sermon at the end of the world....



Comments:Add a Comment 
ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

If anyone notices any grammatical mistakes etc. please let me know because I'm not sure on a couple of sentences. Also any concrit as well but yeah I think this turned out okay.

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

one hell of a review man, pos'd so hard. words can't describe how much i love this record.





also this makes me wanna watch blair witch... never seen it before

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks a lot dude. This is probably the first review I'm actually happy with lol. Agreed, I remembering listening to this album everyday for six months and it never got old. Even now about 3 years on, this is still as good as it was.



Yeah blair witch is good but don't watch the second one, it's so shit.

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Thanks cap, if you get a chance listen to this, it's pretty much the best thing ever.

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

yeah cap you'd dig this, it's like hardcore punk merged with thrash and iron maiden in the best way possible

adr
November 21st 2013


12097 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

^ mostly i like what you like so downloading the album :]. Just looking for some new good metalcore



ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

@cap Vocalists also sounds like Lemmy if he was a homicidial, drug addled tramp living on the streets of cleveland.

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

this is the first metalcore and the best i think, eat it up yo



I wish Dwid's vocals were still this awesome.

Wadlez
November 21st 2013


5019 Comments


Still need to listen. Must be good if you think it tops Botch

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

@demi Tbf they're still very good it's just he doesn't put the same power or emotion as he did on this album. I actually think his vocal performance on Closure may actually come a close second behind this and the Mayday split though. Shame that album was shit.

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

@wadlez. yeah it is just don't expect odd time signatures being thrown about a million miles per hour. It's just straight up old school metalcore without the chugs but it's all the better for it.

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

haven't heard any Integrity made between 1999-2008 yet, gotta get on that.



@Wadlez while I do think this is a better album than WATR i cant see many Botch fans feeling the

same. they rely more on atmosphere and crushing riffs where this is just a blast of energy and

testosterone. You should dig it though. perfect mix of metal and punk.

Wadlez
November 21st 2013


5019 Comments


Cool, as you know I would like to think I have a pretty open mind

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

basically if you cant jam down to descent into darkness we can't be friends

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Demi, get the VValpurgischnacht EP, it's only 2 songs but it contains the best material from that era. Also I actually found this album quite atmospheric.

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

yeah, i've heard it. it's pretty badass. Mirror in Reverse is one of my fav Integrity songs now.





and while I agree with you you can tell it's not really what they intended, sort of an added byproduct of the lifestyle they were living I guess. Sure it has a heavy and suburban atmosphere but it wasn't really a focal point, I imagine. at least not like with Botch.

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

I dunno dude, I mean the opening to Harder They Fall, Den of Inquity, the entire of Descent Into... Darkness and March of the Damned all seem to point to them attempting to conjure a really hollow, desperate and raw atmosphere, especially with the kind of production with the cramped yet not claustrophobic spacing in the overall recording as well as the use of the reverb effects on the drums guitars and vocals at points. I think they were aiming to create a really oppressive, subterranean and dark atmosphere overall as well as be incredibly aggressive and I felt that atmosphere came through really well.

ResidentNihilist
November 21st 2013


2150 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Agreed though Seasons was excellent. Still think they could put out another Those Who Fear though.

demigod!
November 21st 2013


49595 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

i seem to like systems overload more than a lot of people around here





also i find the humanity is the devil EP to be right behind this in terms of quality, completely different type of sound though

BigPleb
November 21st 2013


65784 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Amazing record.



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