All true hardcore has always abided by one rule: keep it short and sweet. With their newest seven inch, Peace on Earth, War on Stage, Philadelphia’s Blacklisted dutifully abides. Totaling just about six minutes this record is an all out assault on anyone accusing the band of being just another set of guppies in a sea of thug bands.
The most notable difference is in the vocals contributed by their frontman, George Hirsch. On their the two previous releases, We’re Unstoppable and ...The Beat Goes On, the vocals were powerful, with such a force it sounded like an onslaught of guttural screaming going straight from the stomach to the mouth. On Peace on Earth, War on Stage the vocals are a little more throaty. An almost embarrassing comparison to make would be the way Every Time I Die frontman Keith Buckley’s vocals changed between their first and second album. If a person’s voice can have swagger than this is a fine display of what it would sound like.
This idea of swagger is accented by the way the vocals seem to be working to the rhythm of the music. With most bands in this genre simply doing the “cookie monster vocals” over breakdowns and fast parts, Blacklisted have instead woven the vocals, rhythm section, and guitarwork all around each other to make their most cohesive songs to date. The songs “Memory Layne” and “Canonized” are beautiful demonstrations of this.
Peace on Earth, War on Stage also marks a lyrical shift for the band, in both content and style. These songs take a more narrative style with attention paid to lyrical devices like meter and rhyme.
Because of the aforementioned Every Time I Die reference, many of are probably thinking Blacklisted lost their guts. Let me assure you this record is heavy as shit. Yes, it’s true, there are no breakdowns, but that doesn’t mean these songs won’t get a pit moving. I’m sure the tracks on Peace on Earth, War on Stage are sure to cause one or two busted noses in the months to come.
