Zitat:Don the Reader suffer from the complete opposite of what I do when I write songs. My tendency is to rely on chord progressions versus the almighty riff. Don the Reader have so many riffs on their new record Humanesque that after a few songs, it feels like you”™re hearing a riff you”™ve already heard. The main problem with reviewing this album is that those few songs that aren”™t reminiscent of other songs are straight up awesome.

Running that thought through my head also makes me ask the question – should the album be a five-track EP? Herein lies the paradox of this album. It can”™t be shorter because it wouldn”™t leave the impact that the whole record does, but at the length it is it gets a little repetitive.

In talking about the album, I”™m going to skip past the first two tracks because they do what they”™re supposed to do – get you into the album. However, the third track is where the album starts to pick up. The main riff of “Teethgrinder” is nothing less than bad ass embodied. The rest of the song goes off without a hitch as well. The six-minute title track is a strong contender for the best song on the album as it is the one song that doesn”™t have anything in common with any of the other songs. It”™s even relatively “progressive” (if you like that term). The band starts off well on “Con-sciolist,” however, shortly after, the single noted riffs start to sound a lot like the other ones you”™ve already heard. The album flops until “Reader” which is another one of the best tracks on the disc. “Designer Flesh” fits into the flop category, but the band goes all out on the last three tracks (including the awesomely titled “Guillotension”).

As a summary of that summary, it”™s safe to say that there is a lot of quality content on Don the Reader”™s newest offering. If they are able to trim the fat on their next release, it could make a huge splash in the hardcore community. For now, we still have Humanesque, which despite it”™s shortcomings, still packs a pretty big punch.