Review Summary:
"Housefire! - The Newest, Most br00tal Thing In the -Core Genre"
Housefire! is a two-man deathcore band from "Nowhere, KS." The album's lyrics are heavily Christian, and can be somewhat unoriginal at times. The drums are programmed, but for live shows, the vocalist plays drums and does vocals. This album doesn't have professional recording quality, but (as in most cases) it makes it a lot heavier sounding. It is a good pick for metal nerds who enjoy finding underground bands. This band is pretty solid, and here is a track by track for all the songs.
On this album, rather than putting a "foreboding" intro, the whole intro is what sounds like "I Swear to G, Bro!!" in reverse. As I was listening to it, I kept asking myself "okay, is something going to happen?" Sadly, no, it is 2:14 of reversed track.
The next track, "Can You Count to One?" is not a slow starter, but it feels like awhile before the track really kicks. Although it is very "breakdown/chug chug" heavy, I cannot help but bounce my head to this guilty pleasure. The track is somewhat forgetful, but it's worth a listen.
"It'll Only Be 30 Minutes..." is an instrumental track. It is 1:31 of breakdown that decreases in speed until 1:13 until the blast beat climax happens, and then, (almost randomly) stops.
"When Life Gives You Lemons..." is the band's attempt at a mathcore song. It rapidly changes between time signatures, and it's a pretty good listen. At about 1:56, it changes to a "groovy" triplet feeling, which makes the breakdown at 2:44 more climactic.
"The Shape Song" is a "happier" sounding track, which features a nice synth lead in a major scale. The synth comes in and out throughout the track. It adds some nice nuances to it, and really makes the track. You might have this song stuck in your head for awhile.
"Four Eyes" is a one note song. I literally mean that it is just a cymbal, guitar, and a yell and it's done. I'm going to count this track as a loss, because it was an immature move on their part, even if it was "really funny."
"How Now Brown Cow" is a Dance/Dubstep song. As I first listened to it, I let out a small sigh, and I thought "great, another scene-dubstep song," but it was tastefully produced. All in all, not a bad song.
"Uncle Spinny Durbish" is another instrumental song, featuring piano, strings, and flat, programmed drums. It was kind of nice, but I enjoyed what it led into much more...
"I Swear to G, Bro!!" starts out very intensely, and doesn't relent until the end of the track. It starts with guttural lows and highs akin to the late Mitch Lucker. This song was definitely a win.
"Bludgeoned to Death" is the only serious cover on the album; there isn't really anything special about it. There is nothing bad with it, but also, nothing good comes from it.
"Good Song Title" is a song that is heavily grindcore influenced. The transitions between parts are solid, and I feel pretty happy with the slow sweeps at the end. This song is definitely a stand out track for the guitarist.
"Being Lonely..." is the climax of the album; it has a genuinely good performance from both members of the band. It os the only song to feature a guest vocalist, but the vocalists fry screams are very weak sounding and breathy compared to the false chord vocals of the lead vocalist. This song very much sounds like the second half to "Can You Count to One?"
"One Way Ticket to Hell" is the first joke track and is the second cover on the album. The original track is also a joke, and this is fairly fun song to listen to. However, it sounds as though it were recorded on an iPod, rather than the decent quality recording on the rest of the album.
"Eatin' Chips..." is a BroStep song, and (i hope) it is a joke between the two members. It has both members productions on it, and both of them seem talented enough, but this song is a little overbearing. It has a large amount of ridiculous track panning, and other than that, it is pretty fun to listen to.
"Bree Bree" is yet another song with no vocals, and is all breakdown. The "wow factor of it is its speed (or lack there of). There are over 30 seconds between notes towards the end of the song, and it is a little over the top. I wouldn't recommend listening to this one all the way through just because of its repetitiveness. It is also riddled with Spongebob Squarepants samples throughout, and I would also count that as a loss.
"He Can't Read, and I Refuse To" is the most bR00taL song on the album. It switches back and forth from insanely fast blast beats and slow breakdowns. The song isn't extremely amazing, but it is pretty well put together.
For musicianship, I give it a 2. The album skill lacks anything to make the the listener stop and be amazed. For originality, I give it a 3.5. This album doesn't really sound very "samey" towards the end, and that keeps it refreshing. For how much I like it, I give it a 4. This album definitely has its moments, and is worth a couple listens. One recommendation that I would give the band would be to try to break more of the ties to "scene deathcore" (i.e. the abundance of bass drops). This album is a good start lyrically, but improvements can be made.
Cons: Not very difficult/technical sound, some generic parts can be tedious to listen to, a lot of instrumental tracks, song titles.
Pros: Underground, the band sounds very passionate, this music has feeling and emotion, positive messages/lyrical themes.
I would just like to mention that i typed this on my iPad, so corrections are much appreciated!!
