The Netherlands' Smash the Statues have studied American melodic hardcore records of the last 10 years pretty well. When Fear Is All Around Us sounds so much like Strike Anywhere it's scary, but the slightly lower-register vocal delivery might make you think Avail or Good Riddance.

Like just about all European bands of this ilk, Smash the Statues have a pretty strong political conscious, though they never really reference specific events. They tend to tackle the usual fare; "Thank God I was born as a country boy, where people go to church, say their prayers and don't fall out of line," they begin in "Famine, Pestilence, Death," before adding, "but the god that they created is a sexist, racist homophobe in a culture (that I'm glad) where people can choose whoever they want." More mid-tempo stretching occurs in a song like "A Better Place Pt. 4," where the band attempt to build some restraint and emotion.

When Fear Is All Around runs this way for all of its 30 minutes and 47 seconds. A very solid disc of that European "punkrock" sound, though definitely one we've enjoyed in greater doses before.

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Famine, Pestilence, Death
Pencils and Ink
Bayt Lahiya