A Jealousy Issue

A Jealousy Issue’s first full-length record offers many more rewarding moments than most frosh efforts. It’s coloured with circular riffs, many emotionally driven chord progressions that bands like Shai Hulud turned into classics, and the heartfelt hardcore speeches that we’ve all come to know and loathe. The raw, vicious vocals of a former member of Poison the Well are an initial saviour when the record starts off with a rather bland note, but progresses towards a little more sophistication. Then come the extremely crushing breakdowns, which one soon discovers were only intended to serve as sonic scenery to emphasise that these guys have feelings and they’re not afraid to callously vocalise them. By a means that manages to slip into the periphery, they retain a good amount of honesty as well as individuality, keeping the musical self-indulgence to a minimum. The songs sound like many older Ferret releases, back when the roster included Skycamefalling, For the Love Of and From Autumn to Ashes. There’s a pleasing amount of texture in the sound, bringing the bulky riffs, pummelling metalisms and violent harmonies to an equilibrium that most bands yearn for. It’s just too bad they ended the album on a sour note with a dusty, crusty Wake Up Dead cover.