Emerging from the depths of Manila is this spanking debut album by Intolerant, a quartet who collectively weighs about 500 pounds. Yes, they’re THAT fat. Just look at their picture on the CD booklet. Now the guys playing bass and drums may be pretty trim, but holy shit, those are a couple of portly mofos on guitars.

It’s no surprise that 'Reasons for Unrest', having been an album-in-the-making for god knows how many years, is such a heavy 60 odd minutes of furious music. It’s a species of metalcore far-removed from the done-to-death American variety. Think Pantera meets Madball. What you get is Intolerant. Another idea: Hatebreed meets Crowbar... Oh wait, that’s Jamey Jasta’s Kingdom Of Sorrow. Our bad.

Opener 'Clenched Fist' is a relentless motherfucker that sets the pace for the next few songs. There are huge angry riffs at its start, followed by a thrashing melody, hoarse shouts, an immense sound, and production so clear you wonder where Intolerant got the money to pay for a nice studio. Let it be known then that each member has a career outside music. So they did album number one the right way by earning dough, saving it, and using it to finance their dreams. As far as this scribe knows none of them had to sell any organs. Well, maybe singer/guitarist Russel Dela Cruz sold his sex organ cuz he’s screaming like a maniac on every song here except for the instrumental 'Santiago' and the lonesome closing track 'Abandoned'. But hey—anyone who’s lost his manhood has good reason to be mad right? Right?

Anyway, between those two songs just mentioned, the latter is quite interesting. You can imagine a dude sitting by himself in a crummy bar moaning about not having a social life while the house band are doing their sound check. There’s actually a bonus track lurking somewhere in the album’s nether regions but you probably won’t have the patience to wait for it. However, once it arrives your jaw will drop because Intolerant have totally mellowed out. It’s a startling contrast to the unbridled wrath that characterized the previous eight or nine songs.

You might be wondering why this review has almost reached its end without even mentioning the other tracks on the album. Wonder no more, dear reader, for truthfully, the act of describing music is a royal pain in the ass. After investing a good two years into promoting (or demolishing) the releases of so many bands across the world, the best way to go about the job is by summing up the entire effort with a few choice words or phrases. Here are the ones that describe Intolerant to a T: Thrash, heavy, grooves, guitar solos, rock n’ roll, pissed off lyrics, cool songwriting, Down, and hardcore. More: 'Reasons for Unrest' has something to offer fans of southern metal (like, uh, Down), hardcore, negative feelings, and a little inventiveness.

All in all a solid first album with a picture of a guy in his undies gracing the booklet’s spare pages. You don’t know why he’s there, but it looks cool.

Rating: 8 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Miguel Miranda
12/15/2008 12:11