Review: Raised Fist

Raised Fist
“Dedication”
(Burning Heart Records)

Blistering.  Singer Alexander sounds like he’s trying to set a record for shoving the most words into a punk song.  There is this screaming urgency to Raised Fist.  Falling somewhere faster and grimier than hardcore, but more neurotic and thrashing than punk, and screaming the ear of the typical metalcore hybrid, Raised Fist have an interesting energy.  Alexander has about one mode, and that’s veins sticking out of his neck yelping in one tone.  But he does it with a concise pronunciation so it’s effect is more striking than it should be.  He usually delivers lines in super-burst runs, that when coupled with the pounding relentlessness of it all, it just makes too much fucking sense.  The first listen had me.  That’s rare.

When broken down to their individual elements, the band is surprisingly mediocre.  No outstanding drums.  No guitars that just knock me senseless.  And vocals are amazingly linear.  But it’s that intangible quality of some bands that when combined, they create something interesting.  Not the most groundbreaking by any means, but thoroughly enjoyable.  It’s the attitude and energy.  Fists will be raised easily.