Some call it screamo; others refer to it as "post-hardcore" or "melodic hardcore." Whatever term you prefer, the '90s and 2000s have given us a wave of bands that love to contrast hardcore's naked brutality with something more melodic. Screamo isn't metalcore; while metalcore bands are consistently ferocious, screamo outfits such as
From Autumn to Ashes and
Nora favor more of a melody/ferocity juxtaposition. And that screamo aesthetic is very much at work on
The Sounds of Vindication, which finds the Manhattan Project fluctuating between brute force and moments of melodic sensitivity. One minute, the North Carolina residents are beating listeners over the head with screaming vocals and dense, harsh, metallic fury -- and the next minute, they show some mercy and travel in a more melodic direction.
The Sounds of Vindication, like so many other screamo discs, is all about contrasts -- the marriage of love and hate, the union of compassion and cruelty, a warm smile kissing an angry scowl. The difference between the Manhattan Project and metalcore bands like
Brick Bath,
Rotten Sound and
Hatebreed is like the difference between a dominatrix who shows her willing victims some mercy and a dominatrix who doesn't; both inflict pain, but the kinder, gentler dominatrix offers some hugs and caresses when she isn't cracking her cat-o'-nine-tails. On
The Sounds of Vindication, brutality tends to have an advantage over melody, but melody is still an important part of this 2004 release.
The Sounds of Vindication isn't overly distinctive; nor is it as consistent as it could have been. Nonetheless, there are more creative ups than downs on this generally decent CD, which is neither the best nor the worst that screamo has to offer, and indicates that the Manhattan Project is worth keeping an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson