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108 - A New Beat from a Dead Heart (Cover Artwork)

108

A New Beat from a Dead Heart (2007)
Deathwish Inc.

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Contributed by: Brian
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on June 26th 2007

Sounds about right.

Close to 11 years ago, 108 released what was nearly their final full-length, Threefold Misery. The band would break up not long after, but not without clearly imprinting their mark on the hardcore/punk scene, leaving obvious influences on everyone from the Hope Conspiracy and American Nightmare to a more external-of-the-box act like Glassjaw. It would be easy to acknowledge that these followers practically perfected the formula 108 wrote, then tore up the blueprints and redrafted them themselves, but it's hard to imagine that 108 would actually come along and join them in that very act.

However, it's precisely what 108's first post-reunion full-length, A New Beat from a Dead Heart, proves.

On A New Beat from a Dead Heart, the listener is blessed with some of the band's most ambitious, heaviest, and fastest material to date. Instant classics like the slightly reworked yet even more pulverizing "Angel Strike Man" and the harrowed "Resurrect to Destroy" easily match up with old favorites like "Blood" and "When Death Closes Your Eyes." But what's all the more amazing is that the band wields that same creative touch that may have actually damaged their oldest albums in some fans' eyes, and employs it differently here to consistently positive results. The aforementioned "Resurrect to Destroy" finds frontman Robert Fish / Rasajara rhythmically singing under a level of distortion and in front of modestly wailing guitar riffs during the verses, bass-less, to which it creates a fantastic dynamic to where he begins to heed warning during the chorus: "Resurrect to destroy / resurrect to destroy / resurrection into annihilation." Rasajara talks up a utopian world in "The Sad Truth" -- literally, as the track's almost completely his spoken word reflected by his bandmates' fairly leveled musical ongoings. The one other mellow offering is "Walk Through Walls," a reggae-inflected, old-school post-hardcore jaunt that sounds like a jam session involving Bad Brains and Fugazi, with Rasajara howling the chorus in gloriously MacKaye fashion.

As one could tell from the abovementioned songs, 108 continue to provoke thought without over-intellectualizing. "Bibles + Guns = The American Dream?" attempts to shift one's fixations from wants to needs, while "Guilt" briefly observes one's entitlement based on birth and gender.

108 hook up with some characters that weren't as high-profile 10 years ago -- namely, Deathwish Inc. and Kurt Ballou. The former is a perfect home for the metal/hardcore act and finds the label stylizing a perfectly sandy, rough finish to match 108's Krshna-inspired artwork. The latter lets 108 loose on all the band's creative detours, but thankfully, that band always know exactly where they're going -- Ballou merely pitches a dim but visible (audible) tent over their path.

A New Beat from a Dead Heart doesn't just prove 108 hasn't lost their touch -- it shows that a complete resurrection has done them wonders, and in a perfectly succinct 34 minutes. 108 remain tied to their spiritual underpinnings, but hardly let it affect their aggression and socially conscious outrage. If this is just the re-beginning of things to come, it's safe to bet that the blood will be flowing easy for years to come.

STREAM
Guilt
Angel Strike Man
Three Hundred Liars
Martyr Complex

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Scruffy (July 1, 2007)

"krishna is a totally different thing than christianity. it's not just general religion that people have a problem mixing their "punk" with. it's what that religion entails, and christianity has been fucked since the beginning. it's the complete antithesis of the punk culture."

It should be general religion that people have a problem with in punk. I can understand that. I respectfully disagree, but I understand it. To single out one religion means you're bringing your own personal bigotries into the discussion, and merely rebelling against it because it is the dominant religion in our culture, not because of any specific tenet of its doctrine that makes it less "punk" than other religions. Sure, you could name some tenets, but none that wouldn't be similar for most other theistic religions.
And if you're settling on a faith or lack thereof because it is or isn't punk, or for any other reason than that you have searched, studied and thought about it and believe it to be true, you really shouldn't be talking about this. And if you've done all of that, then you would respect other people's beliefs (as any intelligent person would admit the ambiguities evident in any faith, atheism included, leaving only the arrogant to do any different), regardless of how they differ from yours.

Anonymous (June 28, 2007)

sick album

Anonymous (June 27, 2007)

i'm really happy the reunion seems to be working out well for these guys. i had thought that it would blow up on them if they tried staying together thinking that the reception they got from the shows the weekend of the canceled hellfest would be what they would have every time they played. they seem to be taking their time with everything, recording a solid record instead of a quick cash in or something, trying to rehas their old glories

Anonymous (June 27, 2007)

...below praising comment from Janelle

Anonymous (June 27, 2007)

SO impossibly good is this record. "bibles guns = the american dream?" is out of control.

CCSummers (June 26, 2007)

good review

elephantdwarf (June 26, 2007)

krishna is a totally different thing than christianity. it's not just general religion that people have a problem mixing their "punk" with. it's what that religion entails, and christianity has been fucked since the beginning. it's the complete antithesis of the punk culture.

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

their hardest record yet, f*ck yeah 108, see you @ the Knitting Factory on Sunday

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

"this needs to be said, fuck krishna core, and fuck mixing religion and punk in general. i dont understand why no one gives these dudes shit for their beliefs but are so quick to turn on jesus loving hardcore. its hypocrotical, all should be eradicated. focusing on one while neglecting another is both elitist and predijuce. 108 sucks. shelter did too."

When you're 24 and rid of teen angst you'll realize that bitching about religion being mixed with punk does not matter...at all.

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

People who take issue with the so-called "krishna" element of this band are either completely ignorant of what they're talking about or pay zero attention to what the band actually says/thinks. I think there is actually an interview with the band on this very site that explains their viewpoints. Read it and wise up.

branden (June 26, 2007)

brian i'm sorry, but that picture is just TACHY.

AHAHAHAHA
BASIC ARRYTHMIA HUMOR
SOMEBODY STOPE ME BEFORE I GET A FIRST DEGREE

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

I agree 100% with the comment below

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

So you 100% agree with your own comment? Cool.

I got this from Oink two weeks ago and I am blown away by how heavy this record is. I cannot wait for my pre order so I can dig into the lyrics and check out the packaging as DW packaging is always killer. Cannot wait for Sound and Fury Fest!

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

I agree 100% with the comment below

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

this needs to be said, fuck krishna core, and fuck mixing religion and punk in general. i dont understand why no one gives these dudes shit for their beliefs but are so quick to turn on jesus loving hardcore. its hypocrotical, all should be eradicated. focusing on one while neglecting another is both elitist and predijuce. 108 sucks. shelter did too.

feeeding5000 (June 26, 2007)

Hmmm...how would a non-staff writer place a picture in a review? I might need that gimmick later. Oh, and if I have not heard anything by 108, is it better to get this, or the box set? (Yes, price is a big factor).

Anonymous (June 26, 2007)

goddamn, threefold misery slays so hard. i am hoping i will enjoy this one.