American Nightmare, 2018, A Review

American Nightmare, 2018, A Review

By: Erreh Svaia
Rock N Roll Animal

A classic hardcore record will always be an exotic and beautiful hell of a mess, frenetic rhythms jagged edge guitars and screaming agonizing vocals, American Nightmare new record is not an exception, only time will tell us if it's really classic, is undoubtedly a step forward for the band, in a genre that despises progression, impossible not to notice the band getting better at creating near memorable melodies and developing an irresistible flow piece after piece, frontman Wesley Eisold experience with Cold Cave, among other musical endeavours has brought a broader and more sympathetic vision to the band whole artistic vision, one that is clearly felt thru the whole self titled recording, new elements are brought in order to enrich the mix with an exciting and maturing effect, which again, in hardcore circles might not sound like an attractive idea, but is precisely that  reckless abandon to try new things which makes this record, the band's risky attempt at making a new fresh start, such a welcome effort, taking wonderful chances at making something truly  transcendental, using your band's name as the title for the recording is a clear sign of a band looking to reshuffle themselves and make an statement of it, The World is Blue is eerily fascinating and starts in an epic way, a powerful bass performance leading the impressive and compact attack, the band's sound expanding on the brief  Flowers Under Siege, while guitars roar relentlessly on the self titled track, War is precisely a proof of the band's assimilation of sounds outside the hardcore sphere, as guitars are heard taking some really interesting twists right before Gloom Forever taking an intriguing departure towards the gloom and doom of Eisold other darker adventures, Colder Than Death goes even beyond that, it's the sort of stuff a band like Samhain, The Damned or Son of Sam would be able to come up with, wonderful, dark and twisted, with the awesome Crisis of Life becoming a more than apt closing for such a glorious attempt, a truly defining recorded for a band willing to take more risks.