GAT-ROT (don’t know what that even means) play a metallic-tinged brand of hardcore, and apparently, have been around since 1995, according to their press release. The best hardcore is played with passion and a sense of urgency, whereas Gat-Rot play a by-the-numbers style that has overrun the genre. “I Am Your Violence” is a frantic song with off-rhythm beats that separates them a little bit from their peers before they continue to revel in mediocrity. There are also plenty of near-breakdowns on the album, but the first actual breakdown to rear its head is on the fourth track, “And Justice For Some”. This song ends with a gang vocal, screaming the title of the song.
It also needs to be noted that there are two singers with one of them doing the majority of the vocals, and the other sounding more like a backup singer. There is also somewhat of a stab at social and political issues with the artwork of a unruly mob being controlled by the police and lines such as this in “Equilibrium”: “According to a recent poll, everyone’s to blame”, which in addition to being a cheesy line, is delivered with no conviction. A song that I was nearly duped into liking, “Is This The End?”, starts off promising, with furious drumming and speed, until it halts to a slow, prodding tempo that drags its ass for what seems like forever, even though the song is only about 4 minutes and 30 seconds long. The last song, “Second Wind”, has double-bass drumming, and parts that will surely incite some serious chaos in pits, but it’s possibly the only completely solid song on here.
There are times when the music borders on nu-metal such as in “Equilibrium” and “Make Today”, and the main vocalist seems to be going through the motions, which doesn’t help in separating these guys from the rest of the hardcore pack.
