217 pehc

Review: 217 – Atheist Agnostic Rationalist

From Pescara hardcore, 217’s debut!

Old school calls, Pescara hardcore answers! 217’s first album has arrived after they hyped us up with various singles, and it is called “Atheist Agnostic Rationalist”. Fuck, I’m pumped already. I pop the CD in, press play and it starts with “Dark Medieval Times”, which catapults us in the topics of this album with a dystopian, Orwellian intro. A raw reality, anger and poison towards these dark times, described with unbelievable clarity. “Atheist Agnostic Rationalist” features 9 tracks; it is solid, no frills, no fashionable junk, just a sharp line to follow with big heart and determination.

The offer is an old school hardcore that resembles Slapshot’s sound, but with a clear political connotation, considering also that sort of Marcusian thought manifesto which is titled (guess what) “Marcusian”. The band, for those who don’t know, features members of Straight Opposition: Ivan, the singer, screams like a madman and seems to wake us up with each and every syllable, just as he used to do with his old band. The bass and drums are heavy, strong and, to say the least, precise and devastating just like the guitar, with full-bodied sounds and razor-sharp, heavy riffs, just the way we like ‘em. I can’t choose my favourite track, there’s a lot of attitude and high-quality hardcore in this 217 album, even though the ones that are still rattling around in my brain are “Marcusian” and “Total Breakdown”: that’s some “fasten your seatbelt” kind of stuff.

Congrats to Indelirium for betting on the right horse once again, to Vinx from La Tana for the excellent recording, to Seb for mixing and mastering and to Guglielmo from Seventeen Graphics for this artwork. In short, welcome to 217 and keep going!