Alert – Demo 2008
I think youth crew is a difficult brand of hardcore to play, while being simple and the most typical sounding hardcore, there is still bands that are sticking out and doing it well, and individual. Alert, from Massachusetts is one of aforementioned examples. While playing a type of hardcore that has been played similarly by bands for the past 20 years they have still managed to make something special out of their music. The vocals sound good, clear but meaningful, you can tell the band believes what they are singing about, on the other hand, they do sound lazy at times, like all the potential effort is not being put into it. The guitars are great and fast, and sounds really great and full, which is the one thing that turns me off of some youth crew bands, the lack of fullness or substance in the music. And lastly the drums are as needed fast and and matched perfectly to the music, there are a few times when the standard punk beat could be switched up into something a slight bit more technical, but they still sound great. Overall this is a fucking awesome demo, and a great way to make an impact and a great first impression, with a little more mastering and perfection this could be released as an EP. This band is playing a great version of 80’s hardcore, which is appreciated by everyone. The band offers their demo for free which is an awesome step not enough bands take, they will also have tapes come Christmas time if you want to own a tangible copy of it. This band is fucking good.
