Album Reviews

Just like Affiance, Australia’s Driven Fear start their album with the “I’m mad as hell” speech from the movie Network before unleashing some excellent hardcore tuneage. On “Contender” – the band’s first full-length – they keep things interesting throughout the entire duration by messing around with different rhythms, heavy yet melodic riffage and raw vocals that are often supported by a slew of gang vocals.

They’ve got a whole lot of energy going on and bring back memories of bands like Comeback Kid and Raised Fist whereas more moody tracks like “The Hunter” take us deep into Defeater territory. To top it all off, things sound great yet still raw enough and they’ve got more passion than a young couple getting it on for the first time. If you want to hear an impressive hardcore debut, “Contender” is definitely what its title makes it out to be.