With Honor

Revenge indeed. With Honor’s debut, Heart Means Everything was a solid kick in the pants of traditional hardcore, fusing the dynamics and melodic experimentation of Shai Hulud and Stretch Armstrong with the more traditional, positive approach of Bane and Comeback Kid. With the additional pressure of featuring ex members of Hamartia, it is even more puzzling why With Honor would choose to release such a vapid, ill-advised collection of predictable pop punk songs at this point in their career. While the vocals occasionally stray towards the more aggressive end of the spectrum, keeping the record vaguely within the hardcore genre, there are precious few truly memorable moments, barely any breakdowns, and only the smallest shred of integrity left intact. A true regression in quality on every front, even the production sounds empty and lifeless. As with every poorly-disguised attempt at mainstream acceptance, there is just enough of the group’s previous style on display to merit the semi-enthusiastic support of the more stubborn members of their fan base, but don’t be fooled for a second. With Honor have well and truly gone for broke, and it is recommended that by not wasting your hard earned cash on this tame, watered down release, that we keep them that way.