REVIEW: 'In the promise of another tomorrow' by Regulate

Regulate are a New York Straight Edge hardcore band who have just released their debut album “In the promise of another tomorrow.” With their first release debuting in 2013 , their two EPs “Corrupt Correct” and “Years of Rage” (and a pretty sweet Bad Brains cover) then followed and the quality of song writing and music has been getting better ever since. Over this time Regulate have given us in your face hard hitting riffs, challenging and chaotic themes and New York Straight edge inspired lyrics- all the things we know and love from this kind of band. Although it was a long, anticipated wait for this album it was well worth it as  the band have stepped up their game to create a diverse collection of songs where each song stands out and holds its own; it’s clear that the band have carefully constructed every element that has gone in to this album to make it stand out first album.

The opening riff of 11:13 alongside the fast paced drums is enough to make anyone nervous; it has a strong resemblance to alot of what we have heard in Years of Rage. However, when the vocals hit you are aware that this band have done something new. The vocalist,  almost rapping, impressively fits all his lyrics in such small spaces, likes he’s telling a story. He does this convincingly enough that you feel as though you are living in the story, walking through the city with him. The lyrics are powerful, othering you a insight into everyday institutional racism that people of colour have to deal with. In this case, getting stopped by the Police. Gathered from the story told in the song it’s about the vocalist reciting his own accounts of everyday racism. He is simply on the way to class when gets stopped for looking aggressive with rightfully filled him with aggression and anger which we as listeners feel with him. Lyrics such as “officer please it’s the 5th time this week” offers a more emotional take on his experience, anchored by “maybe now you see the shit we deal with.” which can help to create awareness of these issues to their fans- for me, and others alike, that was what hardcore is about. Standing up for what you believe in and making a change. 11:13 only being the first song in, does just that and is the main reason why this song is a personal favourite off of the album.

Following on from this, we are hit with a collection of short, fast paced songs, with powerful drum fills and fast paced vocals displayed in  songs like Mono De Oro. Flowing affectively into a song like Mind Crime offering catchy melodic hooks, punk rhythms and a sweet guitar solo.

A feature which stood out for me in this album is the variety and how the album perfectly flows and fits together despite the differences of sounds in each song- the pace perfectly rises and falls throughout highlighting something unique every minute. In particular, I loved the way the catchy hook of “Unfinished Abandonment of self” flowed into “Character Arc”- another stand out song- which at first it sounds like something  from the 90s Emo scene, a very ‘Basementesque’ sounding song to begin with. However, it picks up into the vocalists harsh vocals after the clean vocals he demonstrates earlier in the song. This is a song with hard riffs and a catchy sing along chorus, which isn’t something we would expect from Regulate, but it works and flows perfectly in the album, along with the big sounding songs like Character Arc, 11:13 and Wrong side of History. The album demonstrates short powerful songs that are stomp worthy and bound to have crowds shouting along to. It has been clear that this album isn’t just a collection of songs thrown together- this album has been well thought out and you can tell that the band wanted to highlight the diversity of their talents along with lyrics that a lot of fans with be able to relate to and identify with. Regulate have gone in with a mindset knowing what they wanted.An album to make an impact, an album to have a promise for another tomorrow.

Rate: 8.5/10 ‘

By Sam Hennerley