Run With The Hunted – Self Titled

When I think Panic Records, I can’t help but think of bands like Outrage and At Half Mast.  Hard, heavy, hardcore – and based on the steady stream of boisterous outbursts, from a vocalist who might just be a few screws loose.  For its tiny size, I cite the label all too often, but there are just certain connotations accompanying the label that make it a natural reference point.

Phoenix, Arizona’s Run With The Hunted fits shoulder to shoulder with Panic’s roster, and with their self-titled full-length debut, I’d be surprised if they found a new home any time soon.

Starting deceptively with “Introspective,” the band lumbers in like a mammoth on parade for an awestruck crowd.  Chords linger ominously as opening passages crunch and echo with inherent darkness.  Then, once “Magna Cum Laude” starts, all that sluggish anticipation explodes into a swirling mass of punk drumming, metalcore ambition, and swift slashing chords.   Drew’s vocal strain, pitchy shouts, and grinding breakdowns speak of a band coping to make sense of an unforgiving world.  “You expect me to live like this?” Drew cries to an unanswering power, struggling to find inspiration in a society of materialists.  When “Double Zero” follows they retreat into mental defeat by what might be considered a series of “calming” breakdowns, constructed from vocal cries overlaid on harmonic and relaxed chord structures.  The quest for belonging continues in passages on “Sycophant” as they beg for something more (“give me shelter, give me love”).

However, as the album progresses, excitement tends to plateau during the back half.  The same basic structure dominates most, and while solid, offers little in the form of surprises.  That being said, these tracks still work remarkably well together, flowing into one another with ease.  For instance, “Occam’s Tazor” features the return of their subdued side as single notes occupy vacant caverns with sound, melding into “Syethesia” with sharp peaks and similarly bottomless valleys.  Such balance accents the desperation of a tireless search (“I’m just looking for some answers!”).  But what flows also blurs, hindering track distinctions and highlighting similarities.

Overall, Run With The Hunted is exactly what you’ve come to expect from Panic Records.  Belted vocals fused with a soundscape of tortured despair, and everything in between.  It’s rock solid without pushing the envelope, and keeps interest even upon reaching its creative saturation point.