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Hailing from the third most active, or at least most interesting, pole of American Hardcore, namely Chicago, Snapcase also represent a new frontier, perhaps the only one in recent years, for Punk-Hardcore. They represent it first and foremost from a lyrical and "philosophical" point of view: having moved past the social interests of the undisputed masters Fugazi, Snapcase, Straight Edge to the core, achieve an almost ascetic intent in their music; they do so by speaking a language that, with almost religious terms, speaks of soul salvation, sacrifice, frustration of desires, inner knowledge, self-respect before that of others, total abstinence as per the Straight Edge ethic, from alcohol and drugs; this being the only remedy, according to them, to save oneself from a society, the Western one, increasingly lost in "false" values or in the absence of them.
And it is the music that, as the soundtrack of a society in disarray, and an "invitation" to soul salvation, proves to be, alongside the lyrics, equally innovative: before being sonic violence, it appears indeed disturbing, claustrophobic, edgy, anguishing, the perfect musical base for a hypothetical horror or disaster film.
In practical terms, a shouted voice, surrounded by acidic, noisy, and psychedelic guitars, a dry thunderous and fast drum, a macabre, frenetic and schizophrenic track, violent yet capable of alternating more intimate moments, and yet even more veiled and dense.
"Progression Through Unlearning" is not their most innovative work, but perhaps it is the most complete and does not yet suffer from the "mannerism" that will present itself in subsequent albums.
Not everyone's taste, but certainly an interesting backdrop to the end of the old/beginning of the new millennium, at least for those who believe this is not precisely the best possible world.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Caboose (02:33)
do you know yourself
do you know the others
can you pull the weight that rides on another's shoulders
once you've lost yourself to the acceptance mask
well could you find yourself
it's not a simple task
self-inherence
freedom
comes from within
take a different track
it's time to see what you are made of
can you expose yourself
can you peel off another layer
will you make the time
the time to control
because only you can save yourself
only you can save your soul
and once you save yourself
insecurities will die
genuine qualities
and true character will shine
now that you belong to you
what will the others think
well, soon they'll follow you
you'll see they're all so weak
come on
can you, let go
can you, be you
10 Breaking and Reaching (04:22)
I run and I fall while the world keeps on running
running right by me
don't bother to lend a hand
they want me to follow but I can't understand
and I'll wait
I'll wait
but they don't acknowledge me
I've bought the answers even when I disagreed
breaking
breaking my inhibitions
reaching
reaching my destinions
when you're sinking you'll learn to edify
treat yourself like someone
give someone a piece of your mind
regrets are tokens of what has gone untold
you're only special when you break from the mold
breaking
breaking my inhibitions
reaching
reaching my destinations
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