The Color of Violence

Upon first listen, it may not be obvious that this grindcore duo are two of the minds responsible for widely popular screamo band From First To Last. The Color of Violence is a very much self-indulgent return to the underground for Travis Richter (guitar/vocals) and Derek Bloom (drums). With brutal production techniques, largely improvised song structures and a light-hearted approach to songwriting and lyrics, this project pays absolutely no homage or attention to their previous successes in FFTL, and the Color of Violence is ultimately better for it. "Look! I Made It! I'm Dating An Actress!" steals equally from chaos-enthusiasts Daughters as it does This Adultery Is Ripe-era Blood Brothers, which makes for an intense, punishing, exciting end to an album. The first hint that this record was created without pretence is "Rock Music," a Pixies cover. This is a bold move for a grindcore duo with a popular screamo history, and it's possibly telling of the fact that Richter and Bloom felt stunted creatively within FFTL and wanted to have a little fun. Youthanize is fun, harsh and all over the place, and it's a pleasant surprise that something original and exciting came from two guys who spend most of their time in a band a lot of people had all but written off.