Montreal crossover unit Harriers' latest release starts off relatively strong, but quickly loses steam as it progresses.
There are moments among Mankind Will Fall's first three songs that function, however simply, as dynamic, thrash-inflected hardcore grooves and verses; "Constant Failure" comes off as the most expressive and well-rounded track of the six-song set, successfully incorporating some more technical guitar work amidst convincingly aggressive choruses and breakdowns.
Unfortunately, it doesn't last through the latter half of the album, which is derailed by a myriad missteps — the strangled singing on the title track, the cringe-worthy lyrics of "True Blue" and the sloppy, off-key tapping solo that closes out the album on "Ritual for the Masses" stand out as the most apparent pitfalls. Harriers prove with the earlier songs on the record that they are capable of writing passable material but, sadly, lose any forward momentum they gain due to too many poorly executed deviations from their formula.
(Independent)There are moments among Mankind Will Fall's first three songs that function, however simply, as dynamic, thrash-inflected hardcore grooves and verses; "Constant Failure" comes off as the most expressive and well-rounded track of the six-song set, successfully incorporating some more technical guitar work amidst convincingly aggressive choruses and breakdowns.
Unfortunately, it doesn't last through the latter half of the album, which is derailed by a myriad missteps — the strangled singing on the title track, the cringe-worthy lyrics of "True Blue" and the sloppy, off-key tapping solo that closes out the album on "Ritual for the Masses" stand out as the most apparent pitfalls. Harriers prove with the earlier songs on the record that they are capable of writing passable material but, sadly, lose any forward momentum they gain due to too many poorly executed deviations from their formula.