Reality Slap “Necks & Ropes” review
Reality Slap
Johnny– Vocals
JP – Bass
Gus – Guitar
Tim – Guitar
Tiago – Drums
review by Daryl BK
@DarylBK
Attention promoters, venue owners, labels and distros, Reality Slap needs to come state side, and when I say “needs” I mean should already be here. This 5 piece from Lisbon Portugal plays a straight forward no frills type of hardcore that has not been done this well in a very long time. Think Terror and Cast Aside with the technical chops and song structure of a Comeback Kid. Here is your cliché obligatory curse word for the review, Reality Slap is fucking awesome.
Maybe it is because I have been listening to so much shitty death metal lately, or the fact that I have not been interested in a new hardcore band in so long, but I have not been able to get Reality Slap’s sophomore album Necks & Ropes off of repeat. The catch 22 about this band is that they have sparked a renewal in the hardcore scene for me; the downside is that they reside on the other side of the planet. My only reprieve however is that somebody will get them here on tour soon.
3.2.12
Tracklist:
1. What You Hear Is… – 0:28
2. Silence – 1:28
3. When You Were Dead – 0:25
4. Necks & Ropes – 1:44
5. Check Your Pulse – 1:38
6. The Biggest Sleep – 2:04
7. Re-Animator – 1:34
8. The Calm – 1:26
9. The Storm – 1:42
10. Crowds – 1:59
11. Katakiuchi – 1:19
12. All The Animals Come Out At Night – 2:06
13. Eyes Wide Shut – 2:14
14. Gold – 1:37
Necks & Ropes starts off as many hardcore albums do with What You Hear Is… which is basically static.
Track 2 is Silence which is anything but. Starting the album off right with the singer screaming silence in your ears followed up with thrashy drum beats and shredding guitars. Gang vocals are not forced but definitely make their appearance along with tech guitar know how.
When You Were Dead takes no time getting right into it, and if you sneeze you may miss it. 25 seconds of Johnny yelling you’re dead, your friends are dead and your family is dead. Not sure I would want to be the person in that position. Structurally a pretty typical song with a nice guitar sweep at the end. At such a quick clock time it is hard to feel one way or another about it.
The title track Necks & Ropes follows in just about the perfect place for this line up. The four counts on the cymbals to start it off are the slowest tempo you will get on this track. Blast beats kick in and are relentless up until the breakdown. Thrash punk riffs shred over the ridiculously fast snare and again close the song with some quick fingers on the fret board. Vocally ends with repeating “Holy fucking shit!” check you core.
Check Your Pulse follows up with a bit of a break from the speedy arms of Tiago and moves on to demonstrate a bit more timing and tempo on the low end. No real stand out here. Verse chorus break repeat. Not a bad thing. That’s what I got into hardcore in the first place for.
Batting sixth is The Biggest Sleep, a very well produced song. Demonstrates start stop tempos, many timing changes and vocal range. Definitely one of the strongest tracks, a bit of stammer when it comes to ending the track, but overall the rest of the song makes up for it. A few liberties were taken with electronic mastering but not so much to overpower.
Re-Animator gets a bit metallic, but I suppose in this day and age you have to be able to flex your more than 3 chords somewhere. The chugging breakdown and gang vocals help to remind you that a crew cut is still better than long stinky sweaty hair.
The Calm a buck twenty six of drummer boy beats and distorted light strumming. Interlude I guess, consider this your seventh inning stretch, or time to flip to the B-side.
If this is the B-Side then the track list needs to be reconsidered. The Storm is the best strongest adjective, adjective, adjective song on the album. And that’s not because Winston McCall of Parkway Drive lends his talents, I don’t even like Parkway Drive. Musically it is so good. Fast through the break double bass in the right places, bass slides and vocal pairing that has never contrasted but sounded so in place before. “We are the storm!” Wins best track of the album.
Guest spots don’t end there, Justice Tripp from one of my current favorites Trapped Under Ice jumps aboard Crowds. You basically have a TUI track break out right when you think Reality Slap’s song was going to end. Musically it’s not much, you’ve heard it before, it follows the very basic structure of every other song written. What makes it great is change up in timing and vocal ranging. An excellent mid record song to keep you from losing interest.
A quick google search tells me that Katakiuchi is the word that ancient samurais used for revenge killings. That’s pretty sweet and gives credence to the vocals. The track is super fast and thrashy don’t look for the break in this song, front to back this is a speed bag.
All The Animals Come Out at Night probably the second strongest track on the album. Without liner notes I can’t tell if there is another guest appearance or just post production vocal distortion. This is probably the best track sonically, and structurally. Drumming is superb and the strings go through about four genres in tempo and strumming phases. The more I listen to this track the more I feel it is 1A and 1B with The Storm.
Nearing the bottom is Eyes Wide Shut, not the bottom in talent, unfortunately the bottom of the album. I’m sure that there are more guests on this track just don’t know who they are and at 2:14 it is the longest. Outside of sharing its title with the Tom Cruise movie there is not much in common. For instance, this song rules, and Tom Cruise does not. Remember Reign Supreme? This songs structure and pace reminds me of them, and that is awesome. Towards the end it gets kind of dungeon and dragony for me but not for long. Same basic story for the rest of the album, great drumming, strumming and vocals.
We have met our end with Gold basically our epitaph for the album. “Mining for gold in hearts so black.” Over the slowest you will hear the drums, but quite possible the best guitar soloing. It is sad that the album is over, but it has done the job of leaving you wanting more. I sure as shit do.
Hell Xis Records is responsible for this release and anyone who is a fan of thrashy hardcore music should pick this up. If you can find it buy it, also if you can afford the trip to Europe, do it.
To learn more about Reality Slap, check out:
www.Facebook.com/realityslap
www.Myspace.com/slapyouwithreality
www.Hellxis.com
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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