Killing the Dream

Killing the Dream's eponymous debut somehow manages to squeeze ten songs (half of them new, half of them older demos) into exactly 21 minutes — making short shrift of the band's meager output thus far, but making it count with full-force delivery. Although they are fundamentally rooted in hardcore (check out the awesome, punk riffs in "January 2nd" and "By Now"), the band's style actually leans a little more to heavy metal than punk — partly due to more dynamic tempos behind their riffs, partly thanks to drummer Isaac's remarkably ferocious, almost machine-like speed and precision. Frankly, his is the sort of handiwork that would leave many a blastbeat-loving black metal band salivating, but his services hardly go to waste on volcanic outbursts like "Save.Our.Ship," "The Escape," and especially the subminute blast of the sardonic "We'll Always Have Paris." Yes indeed, Paris never sped by so quickly, but at nearly two and half minutes, the comparatively long-winded "Play the Tune or Die" actually finds time for a shout-along, while the even lengthier "10 1/2" (more than three minutes — wow!) also hints at the group's potential should they ever decide to extend their songwriting ambitions some. In the event, although definitely a little disappointing in its shortness, Killing the Dream makes for an excellent introduction to this band.