All For Nothing - Miles & memories

'Miles & memories' is Dutch punk-hardcore band All For Nothing's third album. Blending influences from punk to metal, their yelled female vocals, fast parts, melodic riffs, passionate sing-alongs and crunchy breakdowns have something for everyone that enjoys heavy music. You can definitely feel the punk approach in their fast, old-school hardcore ('Epitome'). The whole album lasts less than half an hour, as every straight in-your-face punk record should be. No gimmicks and no experimentations, 'Miles & memories' is as raw and unpolished as its predecessors. It's nothing innovative, but it's as honest as it could be. And unlike many of their peers, All For Nothing don't get repetitive and boring as the songs go by. There are diversity and dynamics in songs like the more melodic 'Overhaul' (singer Cindy van der Heijden being helped on the mic by Comeback Kid's Andrew Neufeld, even if she doesn't really need any kind of assistance), the title track and its huge gang vocals or 'All For Nothing' and its heavy breakdown where the frontwoman screams with all her guts: "It takes every hour / Every minute, anything you put in it / It takes fucking everything / Just to make it not / All for nothing". It's pleasing to still feel passion in some hardcore bands' delivery these days.
All For Nothing may not be original, but 'Miles & memories', their best effort to date, can be a good call for any punk-hardcore fan looking for both freshness and old-school vibes at the same time.

3.5/5

Recommanded if you like:
Down To Nothing, Verse, Cruel Hand
Check also:
My First Failure, Reaching Hand, Make It Count

www.myspace.com/allfornothingnl

(GRS Music, 2009)