Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Album Review: Rain of Salvation - In Times of Desperation EP

Rain of Salvation
In Times of Desperation EP
*** out of *****

The East Coast Straightedge Hardcore outfit Rain of Salvation deliver a perfectly timed and titled EP with In Times of Desperation.

While the fury hits the same raw nerve that the majority of the country is feeling right now, the band is a throwback to early 90's sounding metal-core of Upstate New York with parallels to Earth Crisis and Snapcase. Those similarities begin with the album art, the straight edge message and continue right into the pummeling tunes.

The three brief tracks presented here directly attack the listener with crunchy guitars, screamed vocals and powerful low-end. The thin slapping snare is the only odd sound as the band (Bass – Zach Stachura Drums – Sal Argento Guitar – Mike Marazzo, TJ Rotolico Vocals – James Austin) locks in and cooks.

Opener "The Sound of Triumph" uses drill-like guitar riffs and dramatic builds to a pummeling finale as Austin screams out, helped by additional vocal yelps from Xavier Wilson."October Sky" might be the best of the short bunch with it's frantic pace, aggressive percussion and brutal uptempo riffing as Geo Hewitt and Harold Griffin help out on vocals.

Closing with the title track the group leaves space for breakdowns and bust-ups with it's slamming stop start head banging breaks. While the album was recorded a few months back the band realizes it's lock step in current cultural times and will be donating to non-profits. As they state
*All revenue made from this record will be donated to The Liberty Fund, Reclaim The Block and the Louisville Bail Fund, we implore all of our fans to take a second out of their day and fully educate themselves on what has been going on in the world right now. We urge you to donate, protest and use your voice to fight against injustice. Black Lives Matter*
Rain of Salvation is demonstratively straight edge and affecting change in society with monetary donations and through In Times of Desperation's blistering sound. Here's hoping a full length is on the horizon.
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