Gain To Nothing Reviews

: Reviews :	GAIN TO NOTHING (2007)
	ROCK MIDGETS www.rockmidgets.com Do you live in an area conscious of noise levels? If so, prepare for noise pollution charges, as there is no other way to listen to RSJ than at neighbour-bothering levels of volume. With the weight of Meshuggah and the wall of noise assault of Will Haven, this band might take a while to get to you, but are worth the wait. RSJ have garnered some admirable critical acclaim and supports slots with an impressive and diverse number of bands; from Funeral For A Friend to Orange Goblin to The Berzerker, so this second album could see them become a recognised force. Opener 'Degrees Of Separation' sets down the blueprint; mixing speedy heaviness with a snes eof groove born to move heads. It's a formula that works – shredding, slabs of noise but with enough slower moments packing in killer riffs and intelligent drumming throughout from Richard P Hardy, time signatures change, but without the pretentiousness or messy clutter that many bands attempting such things can produce. Elsewhere their sound resembles elements of the ferocious pace of Beecher (the excellent but bonkers 'My Bastardised Son'), to the expansive and grandiose sounds of Isis (Monkey See). Scattering drums and harsh, screaming vocals assail from all angles, though there's time to slow things down for the brooding 'As She Sleeps'. What makes 'Gain To Nothing' particularly special is the host of extras it includes. Two live tracks and four remixes and – surprisingly – not a dud among them. RSJ are ferocious enough on record, if their live shows are anything like they sound on here they should be essential. The mixes include a face-pounding Digital Hardcore-tinged reworking of 'Theme For Murder' by Satan's good buddy Matt Wilcox (Akercocke) and an excellent electro-edged take on 'Blood And Sand' by The Others. And to prove they don't take themselves too seriously, the 'right shite jamboree' remix of 'Delusions Of Popularity' replaces blastbeats with acoustic guitar, handclaps and regional accents. With such a wall of noise, it's not an immediate album, but once you've scaled that wall, their crushing metal assault is outstanding – the pummelling excellence of 'Deadbolt' being worth a full five alone. With this and Will Haven's new album around the corner, our ears have never been so lucky – and in so much danger. Rating 5 out of 5 (writer - Phill May)
	TOXIC PETE www.toxicpete.co.uk More massive crunchin' metal from the intoxicating RSJ; as heavy as their name suggests, these dudes certainly know how to put across what can only be described as a vicious assault on the senses. Massive, monstrous metal; not so much mayhem as manic, RSJ lay down one of the most solid sounding metal attacks in history. RSJ are quality, whether you like what they do or not, they are a class act and this latest album, 'Gain To Nothing', shows them in their true light and at their most nerve janglin' and brutal. RSJ show uncompromised passion for their dark, almost demonic, wares with a totally full-on jaunt of epic proportions; very little respite, no time for breath and definitely not for the faint-hearted or those of a nervous disposition. It's almost "too much for my mirror" guys! But, if this kinda thing is your bag then RSJ's 'Gain To Nothing' is an awesome frolic of bone-shakin' proportions. Full of solid grit, overflowing with aggression , a heavy monster designed to scare the shit outa ya!! Reported to give "incendiary live performances", RSJ do everything within their power to get that musical conflagration across from the studio - it certainly doesn't get much hotter than this! 'Gain To Nothing' is a beast within its genre. Guaranteed to damage more brain cells in one listen than most outfits can manage in a musical life-time, RSJ should be declared a bio-hazard and an area of special scientific interest at the same time. Way off the Richter Scale, theirs is an enormous blast of unabated hardcore metal on an atomic scale. Yes, RSJ are not messin' about here - but I bet they're real pussy cats at heart - or maybe not!! 'Gain To Nothing' from RSJ is just about as explosive a release as you're ever likely to come across. Rating 10 out of 10
	METALRAGE (Dutch online webzine) www.metalrage.com Rotten Sound Junkies? Rip Shit John? Rotterdam Still Jaded? Rap School Joint? I have no idea what RSJ means, and frankly after hearing Gain To Nothing it doesn't really matter to me either. Spawned in 2002, they now release their second album full of the kind of metal I love. Rhythmic grooving metal, but never too complicated. I see resemblances with our own Dutch metal pride Textures, but again far less complicated. You can spot influences from The Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah to Pantera and Machine Head. So it's not all about being as difficult as it can be. In the end the record reminds my of my own band Model 101 actually, we toy around with rhythms without losing touch with the overall groove too much. And it doesn't happen very often I hear a band that resembles my own actually. Gain To Nothing sounds like a very promising effort. It's not a hundred percent tight yet, but that will come in time. Good strong vocals, almost no emo crap going on, good song structures, some nice sound-effects and an overall no nonsense sound make sure this is a great album to listen to. These English headbangers have added six bonus tracks as a nice extra to the album, namely two live tracks and four remixes of old tracks, done by Akercocke's Matt Wilcocks. A nice extra for the older fans, and it gives a good impression on how these guys sound live. Pretty intense I'd say. The remixes are quite oddball every now and then, don't really know what the meaning of some of those is. Any fan of rhythmical metal that requires more headbanging than thinking can pick this one up I guess. If you can find it that is. Gain To Nothing is a powerful effort by RSJ, and I don't think we've seen the last of them yet. Rating 82% (writer - DemonDust)
	New-Noise www.new-noise.net "This Yorkshire lot know everything that's great about the genre; meaty riffs, rabid screams, thrashy rage and deadly, genuine grooves, and they include all of it on this, their second full-length." It was over a year ago now that one particular music weekly was predicting the right royal resurgence of UK metal. But that's only because they were trying to flog mediocre shite like Mendeed at the time. Now, if anyone at the same rag ever gets an earful of RSJ, their tired, squishy brain will probably come sliding out of their ears. Because this Yorkshire lot know everything that's great about the genre; meaty riffs, rabid screams, thrashy rage and deadly, genuine grooves, and they include all of it on this, their second full-length. Played with passion, skill and audible British grit, 'Gain To Nothing' could buzzsaw whole forests to the ground, let alone mulch any magazine. And not a stupid haircut in sight. Proper. (Writer - Simon T Diplock)
	SUBBA-CULTCHA www.subba-cultcha.com Some tasty homebred low tuned metal sludgery Since their birth in 2002 RSJ have gain themselves well deserved attention both sides of the Atlantic with a number of EP releases and also their debut album 'Reflections in B-Minor'. Their non stop romp through the realms of speed grind has already gained them attention from Metal Hammer, Kerrang and Terrorizer, and if this didn't make them happy some nice endorsements from two companies that are firmly placing themselves in the hearts of musicians, Hughes and Kenner Amps and the mighty ESP Guitar should be enough to put a smile on even the most angry of metal faces. If only we could all be as lucky. Little over two years on from their debut RSJ now embark on the next chapter of their story 'Gain To Nothing'. With ten finely crafted low slung grinding tracks and a host of bonus tracks in the form of remixes by Akercocke's Matt Wilcock and another fine gem in the British metal scene not to mention one of my favourite bands The Harpies, 'Gain To Nothing' is bursting at the seams with quality material. Leading the assault with 'Degrees of Separation', which reminds me a lot of early Fear Factory, it's easy to see why these guys have been lucky enough to grab the endorsements and tour slots with the likes of Unearth, The Berzerker and Raging Speedhorn among many other well know names. There is a definite sense of a Will Haven influence with a slight progressive yet focused aggression to their music. As you go through the album not music changes, every track is a full on pit stirring barrage of beats and intensive guitar abuse, just as well they got the backing of ESP. The sheer energy of this band can hardly be contained on the CD and I am certainly looking forward to catching their show on the 11th of May where they will be doing an dual album launch show with The Harpies. Amongst the bonus track as well as the remixes you also get a bit of a live taster in the form of some older material recorded at The Junction in York last August, it's nice to hear that nothing has been lost when entering the studio and all the intensity of their performance still remains. The remixes themselves are some more fine pieces of work, Matt Wilcock's has given 'A Theme For Murder' a full on death/industrial hardcore treatment, not too dissimilar to something you would of got from Atari Teenage Riot. Also giving RSJ an overhaul are The Officer's whom I'm slightly surprised by mostly due to the fact that I saw them play live a few weeks back on a Indie club night, but full respect to them for having a go at it. My favourite as you may of expected is of course The Harpies remix with Nikky Honey's haunting vocals layering 'Delusions Of Popularity' adding a huge wedge of diversity to RSJ's intense sound. My main reason for wanting to check these guys out was from seeing their name plastered on the line up for The Harpies show, and I glad I did now. RSJ are a quality band, of course they won't be to everyone's tastes but if you like your metal raw, aggressive and sludgy your gonna love this. For Fans Of Will Haven, Unearth, Meshuggah (Writer - Matt Dobson)
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