The Homefront
Sacrifice
Detonate Records
By: Jeff Karbow
Source: www.siczine.com
Apparently these Massachusetts natives have a lot of buzz going for them and it's easy to understand when they feature ex-members of Guns Up!, Have Heart, and Verse all of which have been bands on the tip of the tongues of the kids in the know of 00's hardcore. They haven't been around all that long, only since 2005 and other than this I'm not sure of any previous releases, though I'm sure they have some demos.
Well the press sheet wasn't joking when they said that this is hardcore in the vein of Bane,With Honor (the old WH at least) and Modern Life Is War. With all of those names dropped it seems this album is destined for greatness. Well, yes and no. For the most part they sound like the old With Honor (which everyone was jocking) and every now and then they throw in a MLIW moment which is extremely noticeable in the intro of "Against The Tide". And though the songs are tight and the vocals are pretty sweet it does little to stand out from all the great bands from MA.
I hate to keep drawing comparisons to MLIW but the lyrics definitely remind me of them. The song "Escape (fuck this town)" seems like it would be right at home on "Witness". The majority of the lyrics are about doing things for yourself, as a band trying to get out on the road and what not. While it's good it is far from capturing the urgency and word play of the bands they are trying to emulate.
Solid recording job done by Jay Maas of the The Getaway Group. With the type of hardcore taken into consideration this album was recorded exceptionally well. The guitar has that great balance of brightness and distortion. I really liked the tone on the drums minus the low level on the bass drum. The bass is on point, the lines are mixed in nicely when they follow the guitar and have good presence when needed. Good placement on the vocals.
Nicely drawn layout that fits into the title of the record, as well as the band's name itself. The front cover has a wounded man holding a gun and a white flag, obviously defending the "homefront". The back of the album is an open door with some fire and bombs wrecking havoc on a nice little rural area. The booklet is pretty cool too, the picture on the back of the book ties into the one on the back of the tray and the silhouetted photo that utilizes the colors of the layout was definitely a nice touch. The lyrics are displayed over three panels with a gray backdrop with the head of the guy on the front cover (which you don't see on the front cover).
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The Homefront
Sacrifice
Detonate
Review By Michael
Source: scenepointblank
Massachusetts-based hardcore outfit The Homefront has quite a pedigree of previous bands: Have Heart, Guns Up!, and Verse. And if you've enjoyed the output of any those bands, you'll be greatly pleased with The Homefront's debut offering, Sacrifice. The Homefront play highly energetic and powerful hardcore with a melodic twist - not unlike With Honor or Modern Life is War. These twelve songs - most of them clocking under two minutes - are exactly the kind of tunes I like to listen to in the morning before I head off to work. After the quick listen, I'm amped and ready to face anything. It wouldn't surprise me to see The Homefront signed to Bridge Nine or Rivalry in the future, as they'd fit quite nicely alongside their rosters.
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The Homefront - "Sacrifice"
Detonate Records
Review by: Brian
Source: www.punknews.org
With Honor experienced a bit of a stylistic change come their 2005 split EP with the Distance, and as it seems they're all but on the verge of breaking up with members busy in Ambitions, a seeming inability to keep a lead vocalist and a sore lack of updates/shows, fans who preferred their harder sound of older are especially likely to never hear much of it again. Unless of course, they're listening to the Homefront.
The Homefront remembers precisely what With Honor did sound like before that transition and take a direct, shameless inspiration from it for their first full-length, Sacrifice. The well-played effort from these ex-members of Verse, and Guns Up! and Have Heart (pretty excellent selling points overall for anyone remotely knowledgeable of New England hardcore in the 2000s) is clearly derivative of it but fairly enjoyable all the same. Rarely do the Homefront slip into straightforward, tuneless territory, instead employing a completely subtle and underlying sense of melody that never compromises the intensity and aggression present throughout Sacrifice.
Among the sing-along breakdown of a track like "Word of Honor," the minute-long blast of "Time Will Tell" and the slow-churning build of "So Here's My Renaissance" the similarities all over the place. However, there is one exception: "Against the Tide," whose mid-tempo intro is more reminiscent of Modern Life Is War. Also, "Escape (Fuck This Town)" is probably the most original song here, and features some pretty stellar guitar noodling. Otherwise it's rather clear who the main influence driving Sacrifice is.
You should know exactly what you're getting with Sacrifice. I'm not saying this is a carbon copy of Heart Means Everything, but the two share enough qualities where there should be plenty of layover when it comes to the fans.
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