Out To Win Beg For Life

The well-respected (and deservedly-so) Out To Win have essentially been a part-time band for the majority of their existence, but never did that fact impact negatively on the improvement that marked each of their three previous releases: Out To Win, Lift The Curse (both when they were known as Mushmouth), and Persist & Destroy. Each was more ferocious than the last, and their predominant reliance on thrash and death metal guitar riffs contained within a hardcore frame helped set them, along with their NY and NJ brethren All Out War, Fury Of Five, and Merauder among others, apart from the pack. Their latest full-length and first in over four years, Beg For Life contains many of the trademark elements that have made Out To Win such a standout band within tough guy hardcore circles. Henzel's lyrics are still as negative and apocalyptic as ever: "Blood of everyone. Bodies falling one by one. There's no way to win this war" from End Of The World; as they are violent as ever: "Ghost army is coming for you. We'll make you wish you'd never been born. Chase you down and make you pay" from Ghost Army. More than on any previous release, his vocals are extremely loud in the mix, giving the album a raw feel from the first verse of album opener "Beg For Life." This song, along with "Disappear," "End Of The World," and "Faithless" signify the new, simpler direction Out To Win have taken this time around with the songs sounding more like Terror. This type of song is a departure for the band in that the riffs are all open-chord, the punk beat persists at the same pace for the entire song, and very little double-bass comes in. The songs are effective but pale quite a bit in contrast with the heavy-as-nails sound they displayed on Lift The Curse and later Persist & Destroy. Certain songs revisit the style used on the latter, such as "All Gone" and "In My Eyes," which feature some rolling double-bass (although new drummer Shannon slightly botches the intro on "All Gone") and a menacing metal feel. But even with this, the Rich Rescigno production job (same guy, same studio as the awesome-sounding Lift The Curse) ends up putting drums at the forefront alongside the vocals, with the guitars, Out To Win's not-so-secret weapon, taking an unfair backseat. Bottom Line: Ever since their appearance on East Coast Assault II and their demos in the mid-nineties, I have rocked out to their albums more than most hardcore bands that were being jocked by the masses. And having finally seen them live two years ago, my loyalty to them was cast in stone. Beg For Life has many strong songs during the second half of the album, and "Angels vs. Demons" is a real highlight with Fury Of Five and Boxcutter's Ismean providing his unmistakable growl to the chorus. For the first time in their recorded history however, it is apparent that they are a part-time band, because some of the songs could have been written in five minutes and are thus below the usual standard for Chris Mahmood, professional tattoo artist and riff-master of this Pennsylvania unit. In the end, good outweighs the bad, and while future recordings could definitely improve upon areas mentioned here, I'll always be a fan, no matter how hastily put together an album of theirs is.