MORE TO PRIDE “This is Life”
It’s still early in 2005, but MORE TO PRIDE’s This is Life has quickly become one of my favorite hardcore releases of the year thus far. Fast, pissed off, and traditional in every sense (though graced by the gift of modern recording tools), MORE TO PRIDE’s sound is part NYHC, part IN CONTROL, and a whole world of hardcore history in between. This Is Life sounds phenomenal without giving up its ragged edge – crisp guitars, snare-driven drums, and extra emphasis on above par bass chords. The Leads vocals are explosive without being over the top, and paced sufficiently to keep everything glued together. Although accented differently from Boston’s Sweet Pete, MORE TO PRIDE remind me a lot of IN MY EYES in terms of composure and intensity. Hailing from Lynwood, California, these guys do not exactly paint a pretty picture of their surroundings (“I look around, and this is all I see, violence, ignorance, and poverty”), and such skeptical reelings are strewn about this release. Not surprisingly, MORE TO PRIDE are a bit off the cuff lyrically, mincing few words to get to the point. “Keep Walking,” one of This is Life’s more dramatic tunes culminates in a breakdown heavy shoutfest of “Get it through your fucking head / You think you’re fucking tough / you better think again / You think you can walk on us / No fucking way.” MORE TO PRIDE leave the best for last with “You’re Wack,” a ballistic venting in the truest sense. With a roughly 30 second intro of shifting rhythms and pounding drums, visions of dancefloor mayhem immediately shoot before my eyes. If there’s a downside to This Is Life, it’s the fact that it only runs about 17 minutes (there’s about five minutes of shenanigans tacked on at the end) in length, and is over before you know it. Still, MORE TO PRIDE have expressed their rage in a most illuminating manner on This is Life, and fans of “real hardcore” should be soaking this stuff up like their lives depended on it.
Rivalry
