Random Hand – Seething Is Believing [Album Review]
Before the political tones of Random Hands songs were more subtle, perhaps only boiling over in ‘British’ from Inhale/Exhale. However now it seems they have finally had enough of the subtlety and have launched a full on assault on the state on Britain, much in the way Anti-Flag did before they sold out for the money. In the very first track there are volleys of “We are not our Leaders” all the way through to track ten ‘Henchmen’ where lead vocalist Robin Leitch leads a verbal attack on the media perception of the punk scene. Random Hand have always been good at mixing up the pace of their music, using ska undertones in their music with aggressive guitar and vocals and this can be seen early in this album as they display their use of traditional ska beats in track three ‘Not a Number’ and then moving onto the fast paced, mosh inducing ‘Three from Six’. The simple fact is Random Hand have managed to transfer their energy from the sweaty underground venues onto a nice shiny CD. This of course continues through first single ‘Bones’ which displays exactly what I’ve been raving about as what seems from the outset to be a ska tune quickly turns into a short rock out and back to ska with listeners wondering what just happened.
The album was originally slated for an earlier release, however problems arising from the offer of worldwide release and this eventually falling through means that this never arose. Every cloud and all that meant the band had longer to polish tracks and this could only be beneficial in the long run. However it is perhaps more significant for drummer Sean Howe as this is his first appearance on CD having been playing for the band for roughly a year now this is his first physical release and displays no let up in his ability to provide excellent backing and support throughout. Then of course you have to appreciate the ever improving skills of both Joe Tilston and Matthew Crosher who carry out the transitions between ska, punk and metal with effortless ease.
The majority of “modern albums” will be made up of three or four good songs with a shit load of filler, however this is eleven songs of pure gold, from first note to the last. If these guys were American then they’d be huge, unfortunately the UK under appreciates such talent, however this does mean that we get to see them in outrageously tiny venues and have a great time along with it.
