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The Hope Conspiracy was essentially out of commission between the end of their Endnote-supporting tours in 2003 and the middle of 2006, when the band finally put some new material to tape for the 7-inch Hang Your Cross EP. With a pair of new guitarists, a more expansive scope and the same viciousness that characterized the band's previous work, Hang Your Cross and the full-length at hand, Death Knows Your Name, showcase a familiar and evolved sound.
Whereas The Hope Conspiracy's 2000 release, Cold Blue, was a distinctly chunky barrage of metallic hardcore that listened like continuous punches to the gut and Endnote began to broaden the band's musical range, Death Knows Your Name is a full overhaul of sorts. That thick, forceful heaviness -- the foundation on which the band builds their sound -- still coats the entire album, bur there's a level of ambition that didn't permeate the band's previous records. The Hope Conspiracy tries five-minute songs. They try linear song structures with thunderous climaxes. They try their hand at rock-inspired guitar riffs.
Whatever the band tries, it tends to work. As a result, Death Knows Your Name is a grander record.
At the same time, it's not a heavier record. The furious anger is still in place, but from the repeated, clean guitar strumming that opens "They Know Not" to the lush, warm melodies of the instrumental closer, The Hope Conspiracy isn't always playing pit-friendly metallic hardcore. "They Know Not" steadily builds into its cymbal-crashing, dramatic peak without any real riffs, while "Sadistic Sacred Whore," which clocks in at about six minutes, slows to a crawling pace for a cathartic, gloomy mid-section that features guest singing from Integrity's Dwid. Between these expansive bookends are more traditional The Hope Conspiracy songs, which incorporate metallic chord progressions, driving rhythms and chunky breakdowns, and are accented by the band's newfound, gritty rock influences -- guitar solos included. It's a mix of old and new.
However the band is playing, front man Kevin Baker never lets up. His powerful, screamed vocals are just as intimidating as they were five or six years ago, and the lyrics still bluntly get to the point -- the point, of course, being attacking personal demons, religious beliefs and social forces. Some of the words are downright biting, but they fit; lyrics such as "My faith in man has broken / My faith in God has been stolen / I see the world's illusions through bitter eyes" and "You're a fucking disease, soulless and empty / Play your part / You know what you are, a fucking disease" match the bleak atmosphere and rage.
Simply put, Death Knows Your Name's messages won't put listeners in a cheery mood.
The entire record, though, will. Kurt Ballou's production is clean but appropriately gritty, meaning the rocked-out parts sound authentic, the heavy parts thick, and the slower, darker passages menacing. Awesome, detailed artwork rounds out the album's aesthetic. With all this in mind, The Hope Conspiracy's all-too-long break between records seems a little bit more justified. But they better not do it again.
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