Progression. It’s a double edged sword for any underground
band. Especially for one showered in compliments and given
exposure at an early stage of their career. When NOVEMBER
COMING FIRE unleashed their “Black Ballads” mini album
on IATDE records in 2003, the reaction was overwhelmingly
positive.. Finally, here was a British hardcore band with
enough passion, enough smarts and enough talent to really
stretch out beyond the confines of the genre and make serious
inroads into the wider “alternative’ sphere.
So, nearly two years on, the band unleash Dungeness - their
12 song follow-up. The fact that this album will be hailed as
a “departure” by some may fill their original fans with foreboding.
But they needed worry, as Dungeness demonstrates
just how far a young band can come in such a short space of
time. As the band themselves say: “We have developed a need
to stretch ourselves creatively as far as we can. We only want
to go forward musically. This extends to all areas of the band:
Lyrics, structuring, packaging, touring and recording”.
And the results are monumental. The straight ahead searing
attack of the debut is still present but tempered with more
progressive and even heavier arrangements and more reflective
passages, to create an incredibly mature sounding record.
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