The Hostage Heart Where There Is Despair, Hope;

I seriously believe there must not be any good band names left, because when I looked at this CD, I thought a band called "The Hostage Heart" was going to assault me with pop-emo excrement. However, this is one of those times when you can't judge a band by their name. I don't know where the hell these guys came from (not literally; they are from Worcester, MA), but I can imagine The Hostage Heart will be gaining some popularity soon. It surprises me that this band has only been around since February 2004, because this album gives the impression that these guys have been a band for much longer. I was pleasantly surprised when I first listened to this six-song record to hear a vicious mix of metal, chaotic hardcore, some serious groove, and even a small touch of melody. The mix of these different elements is almost hard to pick out, at times, because this band has done such a great job of writing seamless songs. At points, The Hostage Heart reminds me of Premonitions of War, and at other times, there is some serious, technical riffing in the vein of Burnt By The Sun. Then I was hooked in by the southern-rock influenced groove, not unlike a band like The Kiss of Death or Santa Sangre. They even manage to drop in a few mosh-worthy breakdowns. Even the melody is more on the technical side, which is very cool, because the drumming is very tight, and brutal, throughout the melody. Vocalist, Chris Diamantis, belts out some savage screams that range from a panicked, high-pitched, shriek, all the way down to almost, death-metal roars. The promotion sheet states there are christian and straight edge themes in the lyrics, but Chris doesn't seem to get that across to me, which is fine. The lyrics (in my perception) are quite scathing, with witty diatribes of revenge and betrayal. While these topics are used all the time, the delivery is more intelligent than many other bands. Production-wise, The Hostage Heart has a strong sound from the hands of Unearth guitarist, Ken Susi. Everything sounds nice and heavy, but I wouldn't mind some clearer tones. On the other hand, a slightly muddy tone gives these songs some character. Bottom Line: The Hostage Heart have mixed up their influences in a superb way and have released a killer EP. While some of these songs sound like they need some polishing up, overall, this is some great metal/hardcore, in these days of overwhelming mediocrity. It seems to me that this band hasn't begun to reach its potential yet, but I can't wait to see what they are capable of.