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Quantice
Never Crashed: Self-Titled
True artistry in music requires baring your soul, laying yourself open for examination, exhibiting vulnerability; or, to borrow from a line Frodo speaks in one of the Lord of the Rings movies, being naked in the dark. There are many ways musicians can accomplish this: sometimes they oblige the listener to decode cryptic lyrical references and endure sprawling, messy musical landscapes before rewarding them with a view of the artists inner world. Other times musicians are more forthright, wearing their hearts, hopes and hurts on their sleeves. QNC is definitely a band that takes the latter path. Their self-titled debut is nothing less than devastating in its sonic assault, relentlessly pummeling you with astonishingly aggressive, implausibly shrill, and almost entirely screamed vocals, colossal rhythm guitar, chest-pounding bass, and drums that barely withstand the beating theyre given all in a tightly-wound, highly efficient 31-minute package. If it sounds frightening, it is, but mainly because it is so courageous. QNC are best categorized as thrash-hardcore, although some of their tunes hearken back to vintage heavy metal (think Metallica around And Justice for All). But categories fail to contain QNC, as they usually do any music of real quality. As for the shrieks of the lead singer: if you are familiar with Kurt Cobain at his most uncaged a good example being his howls at the end of the MTV Unplugged version of Where Did You Sleep Last Night? you might be able to imagine the voice of QNCs Philly. The one difference? Philly never lets up; his singing is really knife-in-the-belly wailing. Another analogue would be Zack de la Rocha at a much, much higher pitch. Speaking of Rage against the Machine, some of the guitar playing here is reminiscent of that band. The lead guitarist uses thank you, Lord a clean tone, picking gorgeous, classically-inspired runs up and down the fingerboard, yet never drowning you in notes just to show off his speed or agility. He understands when his skills will add to the force of a song and when they wont. The instrumental that opens the album, a fairly slow-tempo and pretty tune, highlights his shimmering lines, as well as the strength and precision of the other band members, all of whom demonstrate far above average control and timing. The bassist and drummer, especially, play not only with might, but fluidity, elegantly working around their band mates and the song structures themselves. Still, it cant be denied that Phillys vocals are the main event here; they simply dominate the landscape of these tunes. And part of the reason his vocals dont prove impossible to take is because they never seem put on or affected. As with the other singers mentioned above, Phillys vocals are intimately tied to his lyrical content, which is neither contrived nor banal. Yes, he often sings about relationships gone sour but never without a touch of poetic insight. Honestly, there are several tunes on this tornado of a disc that I found quite moving. My favorite track, the penultimate Good to the Last Drop, has the lead guitarist taking us up, up, up to a heart-wrenching climax as Philly begs, Please don't make this harder than it already has to be, / let's just turn our backs on ourselves and the things that we've made. / And no, I've never seen myself like this before. / Maybe it scares me too to know that different things take different times to fall apart, / but they always do. Regardless of the anguish on display at moments, the album is ultimately about moving on despite fear of the unknown and having the strength not to become cold in the face of repeated frustrations and failures. As Philly utters in another tune, If I sound bitter, its because I am, / but make no mistake Im screaming love through the hate. / I will love through the hate. The positivity and passion kept safe at the core of all this bile makes QNC a true standout. In a musical world of whiny, shallow complainers looking only for an excuse to act like the fools they are, Philly and his cohorts give us something real and meaningful to hold onto, thorns and all.
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