The Killer
Better Judged By Twelve Than Carried By Six
5.2
As a reviewer, one has very little passion to write about an album such as The Killer’s Better Judged by Twelve than Carried by Six because one can neither gleefully bash nor celebrate its release. One senses that these guys truly care about hardcore and have dedicated their life to keeping the tough-guy aesthetic alive. Unfortunately, the only thing separating this release from the rest of its genre is a slight crust punk touch that is buried under muddy production and an all-too-loyal dedication to maintaining the hardcore status quo.
Burly, shouted vocals, a few breakdowns, lyrics about “being let down,” comparable but fairly bland guitar work, and some sped-up passages that hint at crust punk defines The Killer’s sound, and only the latter element will sustain the interest of those that aren’t hardcore enthusiasts. One need only to look at the song titles to understand the ethos of the band; “The True Failure, “I Know What I am,” “The King is Dead,” etc. Lyrics like “I am not ashamed” cement the focus on struggle that much of hardcore attempts to encapsulate. Pummeling, simplistic riffs thread themselves around a greater, pounding rhythm to provide a suitable soundtrack to the forceful but mostly obvious and genre-conformist lyrics.
If anything keeps this release from warranting much attention it’s the lack of diversity amongst its songs, which are only distinguishable by subject matter, and, if the listener is lucky, a cool riff or two. There’s a point about halfway through “The True Failure” where this speedy, melodic, almost crusty riff pops in and I understood the potential The Killer possesses. Next time around, the band should think about making such moments more numerous. In fact, “The True Failure” is generally a fairly good song, and it’s the subtle hints of melody that make it so distinguishable from the rest of the album. Unfortunately, “The True Failure” stands alone and, for the most part, Better Judged bows out of contention. It will be interesting to see if the band takes its sound in a new direction and lets crust influences breathe a little easier in the future.
