Ok, a band's got to do what a band's got to do. Else we'd still be praising Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult and Kiss, leaving aside any further moves made in the greater Hard Rock 'area' for the remaining 30-35 years. But, in the end, was I supposed to overcome this huge blockage via reviewing this specific album? Nobody's fault but mine; still, there's been something I can't seem to remember right now that rolled the dice prior to picking this album up for review.
Germany's Maroon are interested in occupying themselves with - in general - Hardcore music. Alarm! Bein' around for more than seven years, this quintet put out a mini-CD plus a split EP (with Self Conquest) prior to what they refer to as the major introduction to the music world, meaning their full-length Antagonist debut (2002). It seems that the band received a good level of success and recognition, also supported by their live gigs with bands such as Agnostic Front, Heaven Shall Burn and Sepultura (long gone R.I.P. - my judgment). Endorsed By Hate came out in 2004 with the band hitting the streets with various appearances in clubs/festivals.
Two years later, When Worlds Collide is out for blood and I need to give some hints regarding this effort. Recorded in Denmark's Hansen Studios with producer Jacob Hansen (Mercenary etc), When Worlds Collide features 13 songs - three of them enlisted as intermezzos - standing on the Heaven Shall Burn/Hatebreed/'updated' Sepultura/In Flames 'side'. Got the idea? Mercenary label-mates give a helping hand in backing vocals (the melodic ones, I guess)/keyboards shit, while Agnostic Front mainman Roger Miret is - in some, unknown to me, way - related to this new album. Most tunes are speedy, with double-bass bridges, aggressive guitar work and monolithic bass lines.
Brutal Hardcore? Aggressive, Swedish-like Crossover? Call it what you want, but there's definitely not much interest in this one. Not because there are technical difficulties, to let the hammer fall, but because this is a 'young' enough musical genre to be overloaded with 1,000's of bands imitating one another. When you choose to perform in the Iron Maiden vain, you deal with a style pioneered 25 years ago. On the contrary, competing with bands of less than 8-10 years of life, is not what I'd call 'genuine'.
I guess it was the 'Roger Miret' name seen somewhere that 'moved up' my curiosity... blah...