I've been looking forward to the actual release of this record since I first heard an unmastered, unmixed and thus blatantly unfinished version of it back in March in Shipwreck's van. Despite it not being done all the way, upon first listening this record immediately impressed me. I remember specifically being amazed by the ebb and flow feel this record has, which in turn ties in with the albums' theme.
It sure is a rare thing to have a hardcore band doing a theme album and it definitely seems like something that is hard to pull off without coming off too self indulgent or stuck up... No worries here though, as Shipwreck is one of the most sincere bands out there and a humble bunch of people as well (from what I can gather, they might have me fooled though). Basically the lyrics tell the story of a young man struggling to get through life and specifically struggling with his relationships to those of the female gender. The metaphor used for all this is an epic journey that takes this young man from the bottom of the ocean, rising up towards the surface, being swept onto the shore, exploring the land and cliffs, and finally ending upon the top of a mountain, looking back on the path that lead him there. The story is told in eleven steps, eleven songs, all titled by one word only ("Beached", "Lotus", "Thaw" etc.) and the lyrics are definitely recommended litarature. JD has an incredible way with words and there's a lot of stuff in here that really hits home and I could identify with. That has always been one of the things that attracted me to hardcore and I'm glad that Shipwreck is yet another band that reminds me of that. "From underwater the bubbles rise, each one a whisper of my muffled cries. Gravity's chains break at these depths, in the palm of the tide away I'm swept". It' safe to say that lyrically Shipwreck stand out immensely and I can only tip my hat to JD for a job well done.
The opening riff of "Squall", the album's openener (also to be found on their self titled 7" on Deathwish), immediately reveals a lot. It is powerful and pounding and crashes like a wave and Shipwreck manages to make this tension last throughout the whole album. It feels like all the time there is something huge waiting to erupt beneath the surface, a weird, eerie vibe of anticipation that keeps me hooked until the very last seconds of "Abyss", when all instruments slow down and go a little out of tune as the haunting female vocals bring the whole thing home.
As is the case with a bunch of other current bands that are doing really well these days (Have Heart, Cold World, Meltdown... all in different ways) Shipwreck clearly was inspired by a slew of bands from the (mid)90's. There is an obvious Integrity vibe to "Abyss", as JD's vocals bring Dwid to mind more than once, and when a song like "Ascent" breaks loose it is hard not think of Cleveland's hardest. But there is a lot more going on here... The more intricate and noisy bits hint at labelmates 108, but Shipwreck never get that wild, they stay controlled and keep the leash tight on this massive beast of an album. At other times "Ritual"-era Unbroken and "No More Dreams Of Happy Endings"-era Damnation A.D. seem to have definitely influenced Shipwreck, plus I cannot leave out the slight Starkweatherish feeling I get from "Abyss" as well.
In the lay out department, Jake Bannon did an awesome job. I don't know if it was intended but "Abyss" looks like it has the artwork for what could've been a Lash Out album on Stormstrike Records. Although I only got this record in the very last weeks of December, I have to say that it'll easily make its way into my Top 10 of 2007. Great work.
www.deathwishinc.com
www.myspace.com/shipwreckmv
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