Artist Ryan’s Hope
Album Apocalypse In Increments
Released 2006
Label Punknews Records
The punk rock trio Ryan’s Hope formed 2002 in the suburbs of Chicago. Their divers influences like Snapcase, Metallica, the Living End, the Smoking Popes, the Misfits, and the Smiths, are responsible for their brand of melodic punk with a metal edge played with the energy of a hardcore band.
Like so many other bands that straddle the punk/hardcore line, Chicago’s Ryan’s Hope rely on the time-shifting duality of catchy three-chord strumming and bombastic down-tuned riffing. Since Thrice have already combined these elements into often-brilliance, similar-minded acts have to add something special to set themselves apart. In Ryan’s’ case, that element is a more classic punk feel that references the Ramones as often as Hatebreed. The results here are amply fantastic.
Although the band’s sing-along passages recall early Face To Face and their metallic sensibility channels the Strung Out catalog, Ryan’s Hope lay out a promising blueprint without any blatant hero worship. The excellent production on Apocalypse In Increments certainly has a lot to do with that, managing both crisp clarity and enough raw warmth to kick the listener in the ears. The band’s power trio limitations work to their benefit, leaving the songs uncluttered and focused and making a good share of the material instantly hummable and readily memorable. Given the number of punk bands that fold after a single nondescript LP, this bodes well for Ryan’s Hope.
While their old-school punk chargers are invigorating and well-executed, the band’s hardcore sensibilities make for the most interesting moments on the record. “When Life Steals Life” is heavier than anything you’ll ever hear on an Ozzfest stage, and “By The Sword”, itself only a word away from Slayer dedication, makes a good case for why metal and punk as genres really aren’t so far removed from each other.
Too many bands utilizing the punk/metal tag-team (“Petal”? “Munk”?) use the latter genre’s sonic possibilities to pepper their compositions with flashy noodling, but not so here. With 13 tunes clocking in at just over 33 minutes, Ryan’s Hope demonstrate a good understanding of pace and self-editing. The sporadic outbreaks of fretboard acrobatics serve the tunes without resorting to bullet-belt wankery, and even when the band dabbles with Maidens, the spirit of X is never far away.
There’s a lot of punk rock to sift through out there, but Ryan’s Hope have the chops, the tunes, and, a few clumsy cadences aside, the hooks to step far ahead of their peers. If the material on Apocalypse is any indication, this is a band to watch.
- By TAYLOR KINGSBURY
Tags: ryan's hope
Music
Film & TV
