Review by Sonny for Callous - In the Memory Of... (1997)

This 1997 album appears to be the only release from the Aussie hardcore punk / metalcore outfit, which is a great shame because this was a genuine surprise and I enjoyed it massively. I don't know what "real" metalcore fans think of it because, to my ears, this sounds first and foremost like a punk album with a metallic guitar sound, which is no problem to me at all. I'm not a large consumer of metalcore, but one of my bugbears with it being that so many of the modern bands sound alike and I have real trouble telling both the bands and their songs apart. But because of the marked punk component, this has a lot more character than some of the more modern metalcore bands I have listened to. In fact I am not even sure that some of the punk component even counts as hardcore, sounding catchy and melodic, more like second wave UK punk acts like Angelic Upstarts or Anti-Nowhere League, although elsewhere they do have a Minor Threat vibe going on. One of my favourite punk albums is Suicidal Tendencies' debut (their best by a country mile) and I found that springing to mind several times whilst listening to this. I must admit I didn't even realise that Callous were a christian-themed band until reading Daniel's review but, to be honest, I don't care one way or the other because I am more interested in the abrasive timbre of the vocal performance than the actual lyrics themselves and it still sounds pissed off and angry, no matter the lyrical content. In fact, let's face it, some of the straight-edge punks could be even more preachy than any christian act are ever likely to be.

I think that ultimately "In the Memory Of..." appeals to me so much because it has a strong individuality and character due to it having such a prominent early punk influence - a trait which is often just vestigial in more modern metalcore, leaving it often sounding very samey with everyone wanting to be Converge. Sadly it seems that most genres tend towards conformity at some point - and even punk itself fell into that trap with the endless stream of cookie-cutter skate / pop punk acts that proliferated in the wake of Green Day and Bad Religion's early success. If I am going to explore metalcore further with any chance of satisfaction, then I guess these earlier days of the genre are the best place for me to start.