Down To Nothing - Save It For The Birds

With the term "hardcore" getting thrown around everywhere these days, Down To Nothing is fine with playing it the traditional way; fast, angry, hard and straight edge. Their debut full-length, though it came out this year, sounds like it could have been released anytime in the past 15 years. The members of Down To Nothing might not have been born musical virtuosos, but they do use their skills wisely. Their old school hardcore onslaughts occasionally come coated with metallic influences. And, in keeping with hardcore standards, the recorded quality isn't incredible and their lyrical content is plainly honest. A single lyric from "Fire Escape" could summarize the entire record: "We're the hardest kids with X's by our names / Our numbers aren't as high, but we wear the name without shame." With a style similar to Carry On or In My Eyes, Down to Nothing has offered up 11 tracks of fasted-paced anger to the hardcore world. I can't say they're distinct enough in their sound for anyone save the hardcore scene to recognize them right off the bat, but Save It For The Birds will sit high amongst its peers this year. [www.thorprecords.com]