More Dangerous Than a Thousand Rioters – Self-Titled

Besides having one of the longest names in the history of music More Dangerous Than a Thousand Rioters (I’ll be refering to them as MDTTR to spare myself some characters) are a pretty cool band. Despite they’ve been around since 2011 this LP here is their debut and it’s a pretty strong statement that the guys are determined to stick around and share some radical thoughts packed in challenging and interested music as well.

We are the voiceless and the forgotten. We are invisible, on and on no one knows we’re in. On and on no one worries now. Forgotten from the history books, we’re denied social recognition so that we must fit in.

~ Forgotten from the History Books, More Dangerous Than a Thousand Rioters

MDTTR are surely neither discovering the wheel or the hot water with this one but still, they’ve written and recorded a worthy album, soaked with all of what people with a heart for melodic hardcore would surely love. You have slowly developing melodies spanning over mid-tempo rhythms, lyrics which are not based on the pop culture scheme of chorus-verse-chorus, but more of a short notes, to your very own self, about all that you hate and want to change or wipe off the world. MDTTR are generally sticking to song structures that will keep you excited for a huge number of listens before you get used to them. Yes, that’s one of the reasons it took me quite some time to write this review, even if I got the promo weeks ago. The album needs some time, not to grow on you, as it’s a good one since the first listen, but for you to get a real grasp of what the band is all about, both musically and lyrically.

Despite it’s generaly mid-paced the record is sufficiently fast and energetic. This makes it a balanced and an always exciting listen. Another thing that I really like about it is its sound. Lately I’ve been a huge fan of Amaury Sauvé and his work. With MDTTR he was able for yet another time to capture in an awesome way all that the band is about. Even if the album in general reminds me of the more American (maybe British a bit as well) wave of melodic hardcore there are pieces where screamo and emo influences are crawling in and making the album even more diverse. If I gotta be honest those are among my favorites in the record (Point de rupture I & II for example). I guess I’d like only one thing changed a bit and that’d be the vocals. They could benefit from a larger variety of blends used, maybe more back up singing as well. The music itself is way too diverse to function at its max with just a little experimentation in the singing. But pffft, that’s just me. Oh yes, and that circle on the artwork, nobody needs that. The photo is strong enough.

Anyhow, get this record a spin, it’s more than advised.