GAT-ROT

Well, it's been a little while since militant hardcore bruisers GAT-ROT released the "Conflict" MCD in 2000. Newly signed to Rotten Records and about to release an inflammatory full-length called "Us Versus Them", time off has not translated into a mellowing with age. "Us Versus Them" is a varied hardcore-based album with metallic edges that delivers its blows with the ironclad guitar chords of Gabe Garcia, the 10-ton bass licks of Boise Acedo, and a drummer in Clay Reed than sounds like he's playing with aluminum baseball bats. The band's use of two lead vocalists, Charlie Touseull and Ruben Valdez, begins to pay off with repeat spins as one begins to hear the added depth the dueling approach adds to the arrangements (and neither of them are doing any crooning). As always though, I'm sure it is in the live performance that the two-vocalist attack makes a tremendous difference, especially from a visual standpoint.

With the exception of go-for-the-throat tunes like album-opener "Truth Not Excuses", the first couple of times through the disc do not offer immediate gratification because of songs that (for the most part) are not written with the focus on catchy melodies. Rather, the lyrics about societal ills, corporate rapes, and political corruption are well thought out and fairly dynamic (taking the time to read the lyrics is worth it). Still, the tunes keep you involved, but it is because of the sheer conviction blaring out of the speakers that makes you want to go back and get beat up again. Little things like dissonant flashes, spoken parts, and selective use of kick-drum pummel make a big difference.

The more you dive in, the more you'll appreciate the war that is being waged. You'll find yourself remembering lines like the one that is shouted in the beginning of "Equilibrium" ("according to a recent poll, everyone is to blame") or these from "And Justice for Some": "Why is everyone so quiet? Isn't this the democracy you wanted?" and "They divide the masses by separating the classes, creating tensions…us versus them".

As a final point of clarification, the "hardcore" to which I refer is the kind one might encounter from bands like TURMOIL. The music on offer here is not something you describe through arrangement dissection; it just feels right. Some bands get it, and some bands don't. That is not to say that there are no attention-grabbing tracks. "This is the End" with its shift from speeding hardcore to slow 'n' chugging heaviness with a capital "H" or the fist-to-face, tempo shifting stomp of "Where Will You Go" make a definite impact. The point is that there is a certain kind of intensity to the album as a whole that overrides that of individual tracks. Not a masterpiece, but a hard-ass slab of tough guy militancy. Works for me.