RED HANDED “Wounds Remain”
Taking a slight turn away from Rivalry’s stock of impressive youth-crew inspired hardcore bands, RED HANDED shoot for something that comes down from the BLACK FLAG institution of disobedience and distortion. Wounds Remain is a 14 song platter of heavy-handed hardcore that draws inspiration from the dearly missed NERVE AGENTS and the buzzsaw thrash of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. For good measure, or maybe just some geographical balance, RED HANDED also toss in a cover of VOID’s “My Rules,” which further speaks to the band’s well-rounded view of hardcore in the early-to-mid 80s. Musically fit in both songwriting and chops, RED HANDED successfully enmesh themselves in the spirit of their tunes. Unfortunately, the band comes up a bit short in its lyrics, where the usually slate of fakes, back-stabbers, and shit-talkers get their due. Woo. Hoo. To their credit, RED HANDED muster more than enough anger to make their lyrics convincing, and band touches on more serious issues, like absent fathers, and the eternal struggle between municipalities and music venues; but the bulk of the words on Wounds Remain live in rehash city, and that’s disappointing.
Rivalry
