By Virtue Alone

Odds Against Tomorrow (Common Ground)
by Tim Den

By Virtue Alone stands as one of the only all-American hardcore bands in Japan. But don’t let that give you funny ideas, these guys mean business. Now that Earth Crisis has gone Fear Factory-core, it looks like this band is one of the only capable torchbearers of the tight, slightly-complex metalcore that every other outfit fails to deliver. From the opening of “The Quest,” pull-offs and double-timed hi-hats, palm-muting and well-paced stop-and-gos grab the listener with — if nothing else — its ability to make metal sound interesting and not “tough guy dumb.” The rest of the EP continues in that well-worn path of chugging guitars, growling vocals, and beakdown-beat drums, but with a conviction and freshness that bands like Earth Crisis once had but no longer do. By Virtue Alone is supposedly making their way back Stateside from the Land of the Rising Sun, so make sure you check them out.
(PO Box 1583 North Hampton, NH 03862)