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Street Dogs - State of Grace
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A great half on a split does not always parlay well into a full-length effort. Too many hardcore and ‘screamo’ bands have recorded five or ten awesome minutes of music, only to record a full-length and find out they peaked on their previous release. Fans of hardcore needn’t worry, however, as straight from the shores of Lake Michigan is Haunted Life, and their newest release, The Declaration.

That declaration is a resounding one, and for 20 minutes, they leave no room for anyone to worry about their convictions.

Those convictions are thankfully to blistering and relentless hardcore that some of their contemporaries can only aspire to. Mixing a little bit of Ignite-style singing with their youth crew revival, Haunted Life are just the right mix of melody and a hard-edged delivery that will keep you on your toes throughout. The title track leads things off with a mix of throaty screams and gang vocals that without any originality is able to maintain a level of enjoyment I wasn’t really expecting. They’re one of those few bands that brings out the infectious steering wheel-slamming, toe-tapping, sing-along energy that every similar band wants to convey.

Even the run-of-the-mill, introspective lyrics take on an added weight just by virtue of how much fun this album is to sing along to. Every gang vocal, every hard-hitting riff is laced with an enthusiasm that belies what’s otherwise simple as possible.

“Wasting Away,” one of the band's shorter offerings, is a proverbial kick in the ass about halfway through the record that packs as much aggression into a minute-thirteen as some bands are capable of in the span of an entire record. “Devil Cakes” changes the gears slightly, with a more toned down chord progression and that Ignite-style singing mentioned earlier. The band's vocalist doesn’t have quite the range Zoli possesses, but it’s an honest effort nonetheless and a good change of pace. It’s all about subtle change and diversions, rather than trying to make each new song an album unto itself.

It’ll take quite a bit for Chicago to make up for giving the world Fall Out Boy, but Haunted Life is quite a hard kick in the right direction.



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Angel Eyes - ...And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars.Shot Baker - Shot BakerBalboa / Nitro Mega Prayer - SplitDeathcycle - DeathcycleZao - The Fear Is What Keeps Us HereHarlots - This Is the Second DeathLooking Up - Looking UpAloke - One Day We Will Kill YouThe Wayward - The WaywardMaximum Penalty - Demo 89 & East Side Story EP



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    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 6:54 PM (EST)

    Punch in the face is still going and are totally awesome too, but my point is still completely valid with Crudos.

    -Ken

    Posted by sirens on 2007-03-01 14:53:18

    Dude, Will. Youre a tool but the Repos are awesome.

    Posted by joshcbfl on 2007-03-01 14:29:41

    Big Deal... Much the Same thanks Fall Out Boy in their liner notes.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 9:50 AM (EST)

    You know these guys used to play shows WITH Fallout Boy right?

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 11:14 PM (EST)

    Dude, Ken, The Repos are still together and pretty much the best Chicago HC band.

    -Will

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 7:08 PM (EST)

    For giving the world Los Crudos and MK Ultra, Chicago can crap out an infinite number of forgettable pop-punk bands and still remain in my good graces.

    -Ken

    Posted by Anchors on 2007-02-28 11:12:54

    Did you fucking kids not have geography classes in middle school?

    Posted by newfoundmichael on 2007-02-28 01:26:12

    beginning of review:
    "straight from the shores of Lake Michigan is Haunted Life".

    end of review:
    "It’ll take quite a bit for Chicago to make up for giving the world Fall Out Boy, but Haunted Life is quite a hard kick in the right direction."

    umm...

    Damn, you beat me to the punch...I was gonna rip on this guy

    Posted by Adam_K on 2007-02-27 17:57:44

    Best band

    So backed

    Moshing

    Posted by rkl on 2007-02-27 17:15:13

    and fishing off pratt pier is awesome

    Posted by Anchors on 2007-02-27 11:48:06

    Thank you.

    Posted by bryne on 2007-02-27 09:09:48

    beginning of review:
    "straight from the shores of Lake Michigan is Haunted Life".

    end of review:
    "It’ll take quite a bit for Chicago to make up for giving the world Fall Out Boy, but Haunted Life is quite a hard kick in the right direction."

    umm...


    I don't know if you've ever been to Chicago, or even looked at a map, but the city is right fucking on Lake Michigan.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 1:26 AM (EST)

    beginning of review:
    "straight from the shores of Lake Michigan is Haunted Life".

    end of review:
    "It’ll take quite a bit for Chicago to make up for giving the world Fall Out Boy, but Haunted Life is quite a hard kick in the right direction."

    umm...