Down to Nothing - Splitting Headache (Cover Artwork)
Staff Pick

Down to Nothing

Splitting Headache (2005)

Thorp


It's safe to say that with Down to Nothing's second full-length, Splitting Headache, they're not messing around. They begin the album with "Go Ahead with Yo Fake Ass," a fast and aggressive 52-second track ending with "Take your fucking garbage out of here." The track pretty much sets the stage for the mentality the rest of the album encompasses. "Us v. Each Other" soon follows, and with lyrics like, "Fuck that / you can't take this away from me / fuck off / nobody thinks you're fucking cool / you fucking tool," you might mistake the track for something Outbreak would write. Despite the gratuitous use of...well, you know...the song definitely remains one of the album's finest.

Tracks like "I Can't Believe My Eyes" offer the album a slightly less aggressive, slower approach to the consistently steady pace Down to Nothing have to offer. Straight-edge enthusiasts surely will delight in the track "Smash It," whose lyrics are pretty straight-forward: "For the weak / not for the strong / straight-edge because we don't want to belong / I'm not going to put myself on the same level as all the fucking bullshit that I don't stand for / smash it."

"Unbreakable," a song originally written and performed by Murder Weapon, also breaks up the consistency of the album with Scott Eckert's (former MW vocalist) heavier sound. The track offers more of a beatdown feel to the otherwise `90s skatepunk vibe.

While the album definitely has a great deal of angry tracks, songs like "Home Sweet Home, " which discuss movie night and Nintendo night, reflect the more "chill" side of the band. The same could be said for "Skate and Annoy Vol. 2.0 (Sk8 or Die)," an 11-second track Bones Brigade (see: I Hate Myself When I'm Not Skateboarding) would appreciate.

Though the last four tracks of Splitting Headache were all featured on Down to Nothing's split with Kids Like Us, the album is definitely packed with enough solid new material to make it worth a listen. Down to Nothing play fast, raw straight-edge hardcore that will leave you wanting more, but in order to fully experience the energy this band has to offer, catch one of their live shows and prepare for some sing-alongs.