Thirty Called Arson - You’re Only a Rebel from the Waist Downward

Hardcore is now filling the role that rap did in the mid-nineties; its being mixed with the wrong things over and over again. And people are buying it. You could make a case that hardcore’s only true companion is metal by simply dropping a few names, ahem, Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Converge. Where hardcore crosses metal’s more experimental side helps the pairing pay off, but this fact seems to be lost on 99.9% of the bands citing any of the above three as influences. Thirty Called Arson have both feet planted firmly in the other .1%. You’re Only a Rebel from the Waist Downward is a frighteningly precise blend of hardcore restlessness and metal’s darker leanings. The first ten tracks blow by in frenzied spurts (mostly under two minutes) of stop-start rhythms and swirling guitars covered with hardcore shouts and death metal growls. It plays like Dillinger’s Calculating Infinity with a slightly different vocal approach, so the degree of difficulty here is definitely high, but Thirty Called Arson have the skill and fearlessness to make it rewarding in its own right. This fearlessness is manifested in the seven and a half minute unofficial closer, “Have You Met My Friend Burns?,” an instrumental which stands in sharp contrast to the preceding quick hitters, more because of its use of melody than its sprawling length and pace. Nineteen empty tracks later, there is a hidden track filled with low-end feedback and screeching guitars that seems at first like a waste of time but really highlights the experimental streak that sets this album apart. You’re Only a Rebel from the Waist Downward would stand as a sign of good things to come, but unfortunately Thirty Called Arson called it quits in early 2004. A bummer for sure considering the potential they show here, but what they left behind is a compelling snapshot of a band that seemed to have things moving in the right direction. [www.thirtycalledarson.com]