recession - time, arithmetic & other elementary subjects not well learned

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.:: "Time, Arithmetic & Other Elementary Subjects Not Well Learned", the rather lengthily titled debut "full-length" (though its 10 tracks only clock in at 21 minutes) from Nebraska trio Recession on Blood & Ink Records, makes for quite a caustic listen with its flurry of short, furious tracks that crash 'n' bash through an assortment of densely mangled textures.

In fact, I'm kind of surprised that I enjoy it, considering I've always tended to be rather picky about the harsher, noisier side of the "metalcore" spectrum. But it sort of starts to make sense when you look at their quality list of influences, which ranges from respectable contemporaries like Knut to genre-defining staples such as Deadguy to more obscure gems like Groundwork - which is a name you just don't see thrown around too often these days! In addition to your usual doses of hammer-on/pull-off riffs and dingy, borderline out-of-tune scrapings (and I actually mean that in a good way here), little hints of melody even start becoming apparent as your ears adjust to the thudding dryness and subtly gritty textures of the recording.

It actually took my ears a few minutes to adjust to the mix since things sound just a hint flat in some respects, but they're definitely on the right track there. They're hinting at a pretty mammoth low-end throb that could really pay off well, and the vocals sound pretty fuckin' devastating as it is. Not too shabby when all is said and done.

The songwriting boasts a great balance of grating, over the top acerbity and surging, tangible grooves that you can latch onto, and when you combine that with the fact that the tracks are so damn short, it keeps things moving and prevents the listen from becoming stale, and that's where a lot of comparable bands fail. So I can definitely appreciate what's happening here, and I'd really like to hear more down the road, especially if they're able to warm up the production values just a touch! -- aversionline.com


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