<151> is a rapcore band, a style that has now somehow reached it's saturation point. I mean, 80% of the CD's I get to review are from rapcore bands. But don't get me wrong here, I like the style. It's just that most of them sound really plain, normal, not showing anything new. I mean, what's the point on having a band thats sounds exactly like a bunch other ones people have heard before? Well, believe it or not, folks......you just found a rapcore band which can be EXTREMELY original. <151> can be described as a mix between the fast and powerful music of Downset with the wise guitar work and quick rap vocals of Rage Against The Machine. "Well, what's so original about that?", you ask me? Well, they aren't only that. These guys use instruments such as violins (on Shattered;) and piano (or at least something that sounds like one; on Intoxicated.) Vocals are thrown out by Sonik like an out of control UZI that just can't stop shooting. Guitar work is very well written by Mike and Adam. Most guitar riffs aren't that hard to play, and yet are as catchy as a glue. It's interesting how well they work together, especially on the song Fukt. I like some of the bass lines, for example, Intoxicated's introduction, but mainly Jimmy just follows the guitar. Finally, Josh will make you feel as though you're in the middle of a war, hearing bombs falling every single second with his beats on his drumkit. What amazed me the most is how these guys can be so creative when writing songs together. There's definitely chemistry going on with them, something that I haven't noticed for a long time in a band. Intoxicated and Slumerika are perfect examples of the chemistry. Those tracks stand out mainly for the way they catch the listener's ear. With lyrics talking about alcoholism, Intoxicated can give a feeling of agony when you listen to it's music combined with Sonik's powerful, yet depressive, sad vocals. Slumerika is one of those songs that when you hear the first riff, you already know you'll dig the entire song. That's probably the most heavy song of the whole demo, and the one which the band demonstrates all their power and skills on. The production isn't bad for an indie release, and I couldn't really notice any downsides on the album. Something that maybe should be noticed is that the band sometimes can ruin the song's emotion by putting, for instance, unnecessary guitar solos or breaks. But as far as I'm concern, nothing can ruin this album. It just takes one listen for you to fall in love with <151>. Their music grows on you like a fungus that poisons you with huge doses of groove heavy, yet emotional music that will entirely dope you out and take you to dimensions never seen before.
(4 / 5)