Olde York – Shallow World CD (Review)

Olde York return with a new cd called “Shallow World”. Three years after their debut album “Empire State” which was released on Countdown Records.

While their style hasn’t changed much, they still essentially play old school New York Hardcore, the first thing I noticed when spinning “Shallow World” the first time was that their sound and songs have matured a lot, compared to “Empire State”. This can also be contributed to the excellent production by Mike Dijan (Breakdown, Skarhead, Crown Of Thornz, Sai Nam) and mixing / mastering by Dean Baltulonis (who has worked with everybody from Agnostic Front to Converge to Danny Diablo).

Opening song “Peeling Paint” immediately reminded me of Sick Of It All. Throughout the cd you will notice influences from a whole range of NYHC bands such as Breakdown, Warzone, Underdog and Agnostic Front. It took me a while to figure out but some of the vocals definitely reminded me of Both Worlds (John Joseph). In the booklet I noticed “additional guiters – Mike Dijan”, which didn’t really suprise me, different groovy riffs took me back to Crown Of Thornz & later Breakdown records.

Three songs into the record I realized I missed this style of hardcore. It isn’t the most original or renewing music but then again they are fewer and fewer bands out there (besides the three titans SOIA, Madball & AF) representing that old school New York Hardcore feel. And Olde York does it that with pride and heart. “Shallow World” clocks in just under 30 minutes which is perfect for any NYHC record, they are supposed to be short and to the point!

The cd packaging looks excellent, front cover has a spheric photo of the fellas walking on an empty NY street. The booklet folds out into a poster, featuring this same picture. All lyrics & credits are printed on the inside. Backcover could’ve had some more work done it, looks pretty plain to me, but it’s a minor complaint on an otherwise overall strong release!

So in conclusion: If you’re looking for an old school NYHC record in the vein of Sick Of It All, Breakdown & Agnostic Front look no further than Olde York’s “Shallow World”.

[one_half][divider]Tracklist[/divider]
1. Peeling Paint
2. The Hatred You Spread
3. Entropy
4. Fall of Man
5. On and on
6. Once
7. Liars
8. Shallow World
9. Front Line
10. Hard to Recognize
11. Blood on Our Hands
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[one_half_last][divider]Purchase links:[/divider]
iTunes: Shallow World – Olde York

Amazon: Shallow World – Olde York

Cd (USA): RevHQ

Cd (Europe): WTF Distro
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