Album Reviews

After three days of drinking way too many beers at a festival, I find myself counting on the Boston straight edgers that make up Test Of Time to calm down my liver.

“By Design” is the band’s first proper full-length and it comes with eleven short hardcore blasts with fast-as-fuck drums, steady shredding and a vocalist who’s shouting about straight edge, perseverance and personal growth. Taking cues from seminal hardcore bands such as Youth Of Today, Turning Point and In My Eyes, it’s not like these guys are reinventing the wheel but they play with so much vigor and passion, that it’s hard not to get sucked in.

I’m not sure if my liver benefited from “By Design” but it definitely gave me a little energy spike that was very welcome in the morning.