Beneath the discordant sounds and unhinged-tongue vocals there's something else going on with Los Angeles' Autonym. A good few months back the band was at the center of some crazy internet drama that involved themselves, a webzine, and even Underoath's manager. In addition to this, vocalist Will Angelos is in the process of writing a novel and shooting a film that accompanies their debut full-length, Shall We Skip to Excessive Celebration?. Oh, and that album contains some sort of complex lyrical concept that pieces it all together. My only question after all of this is: Why so much attention on everything but the band's music?

Honestly, there's something brooding within this guitar, drum, and programming group, and it's not all that bad. Autonym's songs are short and nothing close to sweet as the constant barrage of supremely raw riffs and scratchy vocals cease only for short, programmed interludes. When things first start in "The First Dinner," Autonym sounds like a hardcore punk-influenced version of Fear Before the March of Flames, vocals and all. However, midway through the album ("Battered Wife Syndrome" to be exact) there's a dance-y element that injects itself into the abrasive sound, giving off a Since by Man scent.

Conceptually, I've found it a bit hard to connect any of their "hidden-in-metaphors" lyrics which shouldn't come as a surprise considering the same can be said for many of their noisy contemporaries. Shall We Skip To Excessive Celebration? acts as an awesome early-year boost, and if Autonym continues on in the direction of this album, their noisy hardcore may just lead them to the promise land.

[originally written for pastepunk]