Debut EP packed full of catchy as hell tunes from popular Adelaide emo punk rockers Liability Of My Own. “Vengeance Before Forgiveness” was recorded with producer / engineer Darren Thompson (ex-Think Tank) and mastered by Don Bartley at 301.
LOMO played their final show on Saturday 14th April 2007 at Fowlers Live – Adelaide.
Press:
1000 x CDs : SOLD OUT
Tracklist:
1. Zombie Song
2. The Irony Of Bitter Sentiment
3. Rest In Pieces
4. Dearest Darkness
5. Confessions Of A Wooden Box Liar
REVIEWS:
hardcoresounds.net [Finland]
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
In october 2003, a band formed by the name of “Liability Of My Own” was created. The four members progressed in writing music of punk sub-genres punk-rock/screamo and hardcore. I only just heard this band a week back, but I’m so blown away by it. The four boys have played some shows in the last two years, in fact over 80 of them sharing the stage with other well-known asutralian punk/screamo/hardcore bands in Behind Crimson Eyes, Irrelevant, The Hot Lies, just to mention a few.
The debut EP “Vengeance Before Forgiveness” was released late april this year by Pee records. In no doubt has the EP help put “Liability Of My Own” up there with the rest, outlining there talent in writing explosive music with melodic lyrics. The five track EP has not got one song on it that im not a fan of, with everyone of them being my favourite.
“Liability Of My Own” are for fans of “From First To Last” “Taking Back Sunday” “Behind Crimson Eyes”. Take my word, buy this album. You wont be disappointed.
Rating: 4 / 5
Posted by: sXeKID
SMARTpunk.com
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
I initally listened to this cd think yay an Aussy band…. But friends of mine all raved about it so I gave it a chance. And S*#t I thought Aussies all sounded like Russel Crowe. The Five tracks are all catchy, some better than others but overall for a first release, I was blown away. The CD itself sounded kinda like if Bad Religion and From first to last had a kid…. Rad….. Definetely check it out!
Rating: 4.75 / 5
Review By: Jarred
Noise Division [Germany]
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
[English Translation] The title Vengeance Before Forgiveness will really appeal to a hardcore oriented audience. The Australian’s from Liability Of My Own also draw a big proportion of their musical influences from this genre, with a significant portion of punk rock, screamo and emo elements. The four gentlemen who appear on pee records released in April are a great demonstration of how the other side of the world rocks.
Uniquely at the beginning the punk rock comes into action with Zombie Song, this piece rocks classically with everything that you would expect from punk rock. It has awesome staccato guitar and has a beautiful screamo heart. If these four guys went to Punk Rock University they would have achieved very high marks!
The irony of bitter sentiment adds to the tempo and moves with very likeable and appealing vocals much closer to melodic hardcore; the track is extremely danceable and is pure fun.
With Rest in Pieces Liability Of My Own again approached emo-core a little bit, the beginning of the song is somewhat heavier and then evolves into a hymn like choral refrain with various vocal parts and it has clear hit characteristics. There is a very nice change of tempo which gets the number rolling again it is an excellent piece of work.
If you mixed Billy Talent with Taking Back Sunday then you would get something like Dearest Darkest, the band presents a very emo-like song which is also a straight head banger and this song along with the songs before has real hit qualities.
The last song with the very outstanding title of Confessions of a Wooden Box Liar also has real hit qualities it captures you with the intriguing finger play metal orientated solo guitar, its very confusing until one notices that this is a small gimmick, the band actually changes tempo in between but the piece never the less presents a kick ass punk rock attitude with screamo additions. The song rocks thru approx 2 and a half minutes and encourages the listener to offensive and active head banging. The curtain draws the music stops and I am very impressed! What bands come into my mind when I listen to Liability Of My Own. Stylistically they sound sometimes a bit like “Story of the Year”, but also have influences from “Rise Against” or “Underoath”.
No matter what with the five songs on this EP the band has produced a very enjoyable and energy-laden debut EP.
somethingFM
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
Firstly, any band that is claimed to be a “mixture of punk rock, hardcore, & emo”, i get just a little worried. Seems generally nowadays that all that means is its just an emo band, who will occasionally wear a Ramones or Sex Pistols T-Shirt (depending on where they are from). But, Surprisingly, Liability Of My Own, deliver something that is actually decent. It does have the “One guy scream, One guy sing”, emo sound laced throughout, but i’m willing to overlook that, because Liability Of My Own have some decent material on this EP. When you go into an EP or Album, expecting emo, and get something is genuinely the aforementioned mixture (without delving into the stereotypes purported by all 3), you’ve gotta be pleasantly surprised.
The EP contains five tracks, the first of which, “Zombie Song”, kicks out some decent punk stylings, its not until about two minutes into this song that the emo/screamo influences become apparent. A few of those screams interchanged with singing. Not really where i would have hoped the song would go, but, hey, probably should have been expected. In all, a decent track that shows the fact that Liability Of My Own could really pump out some killer material, if they took the right direction with it.
After that comes the song “The Irony Of Bitter Sentiment”, this song has more of that emo style somewhat muted “screaming” strewn throughout, it has really good instrumentation however. This song definitely contains far more of that emo element mentioned above. This song really is very good for one that shows so many elemelts of the current emo trend.
Following on from that is the song “Rest In Pieces” (not exactly the most original title, but hey, what the hell does that matter?). This song alternates between a slowing, more …almost droning pace, and a faster, louder, more in your face approach (again incorporating those screams they’re so fond of). This song, like those that preceded it, shoves their sound in your ears with its rocking sound.
The next two songs, “Dearest Darkest” and “Confessions of a Wooden Box liar” were on the whole, a bit more restrained, and quieter than the previous songs, in fact “Confessions…” doesnt really seem to hit you until towards the very end, its all very subdued, and them bam! they bust out the loud, raucous sound we’ve come to expect based on the previous tracks.
All in all, Liability Of My Own’s Vengeance Before Forgiveness, is a decent debut EP from this Adelaide quartet. This is one for fans of: AFI, Behind Crimson Eyes, Taking Back Sunday, and The Used.
Rating: 64 / 100
Adelaide Bands
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
Liability of my own were winners at the SAMI Awards earlier this year, receiving the “Most Popular Punk Act” award. Their subsequent debut EP ‘Vengeance Before Forgiveness’ was released in April 2006 and it’s a ripper!
Whatever’s going on with this band, it’s pretty wild cos the five tracks cover a lot of ground and the mix is positively electric.
Zombie is the opener and it’s pure punk-rock. It explodes out of your speakers and sets the scene for the ride of finely-honed chaos that follows!
Track two, The Irony of Bitter Sentiment, hits you like a machine gun. It’s got a pummelling intro, then it suddenly changes tack, then it crashes back in. The driving melodic lines of vocals and guitars carry the song, but it’s the fantastic precision drumming that underpins it, (Nathan), not to mention the rock solid bass, (Ben).
Other highlights on this EP include Dearest Darkest. This track also tears along, with it’s guitars and drums in overdrive, only this time, it’s the double vocals of Aaron and Ben that stand out. They soar over the top in a dynamic mix of screamo and punk.
And that is the essence of ‘Vengeance Before Forgiveness’. Every track has elements of punk-rock, hardcore and even emo that are fused together with intent.
LOMO is a band that is not afraid to show it’s influences and not afraid to show what it’s got. It’s no wonder their live shows go off and here’s the EP to prove it.
‘Vengeance Before Forgiveness’ is out now on Pee Records
Bombshellzine
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
If a picture tells a thousand words then avoid looking at the promo pics of this Adelaide mob, unless you are a fully fledged member of synchronised fringe appreciation brigade. From the pictures and artwork you can pretty much guess what is on the menu, a plate of today’s trendy stylings of polished rock/pop laced with screaming parts. Thankfully though unlike most playing this style, Liability Of My Own haven’t forgotten the word variety. ‘Zombie Song’ kicks things off, at an energetic pace, it all goes well until the screaming is introduced unnecessarily, ditching those parts would make this a killer song. Musically these guys are on the money, it’s interesting and not generic, however the vocals, while suiting the style, can get a bit on the ear if this genre isn’t on the top of your hitlist. Ditch the screaming, give the vocals some more grunt and these guys could come up with a winner.
Naked Dwarf
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
Often when I review a CD I search a band’s website (or as is more often the case these days, their [shudders] Myspace site) for a little information on their background, influences, style and the like. I researched “Liability of my Own” and was at once intrigued by their self-described style: Punk / Hardcore / Screamo. At this stage I already had the CD rotating and needed no explanation of the term “Screamo” (the other two were well known terms) as I was getting a clear definition from my stereo speakers. As I am sure you understand what I am referring to, I need go no further.
These four South Australian guys formed their band in 2003 and after many live gigs, both locally and interstate, have recently released their debut EP, “Vengeance Before Forgiveness”. On first listen I was instantly reminded of Good Charlotte – forgive my lack of knowledge regarding the punk scene. But of course Good Charlotte are lacking in the Screamo department. After several listens I have got to say I don’t really mind it. My two cents; get rid of the “Screamo”. What purpose does it serve? Is it to enhance the hardcore image? Undoubtedly it is, but it just does nothing for the music. I think the grinding guitars, the thudding bass and the hell-for-leather drumming speak for themselves.
The dual vocalists work well together and have the ability to produce emotive melodies. The guitar and drums are characteristic of hardcore punk and the guys do it well. There are some great moments in these tracks where the fast tempo and beats of the drums combine with some interesting chord progressions to showcase the passion in this music. The lyrics themselves also add to this emotion.
“Liability of my own” are certainly a band to keep an eye out for if hardcore punk music is what you crave.
dB Magazine – Issue #384
LIABILITY OF MY OWN – Vengeance Before Forgiveness
“Punk” is such a broad term these days, covering emo, screamo, hardcore and, um, punk. Therefore, it’s easy to see how locals Liability Of My Own won this year’s SAMI award for Most Popular Punk Act – by covering the spread! LOMO combine all the aforementioned elements to create a varied sound that makes them accessible to a wide cross-section of punk fans. Unfortunately, on their promising debut 5-track CD-EP ‘Vengeance Before Forgiveness’ the songs don’t gel enough to become a truly memorable release.
The band certainly have a pretty good grasp of all the elements, however: opener Zombie Song sounds like The Used playing Bad Religion, and works brilliantly; from its stomping punk riff to its woah-oh drenched chorus and through to its screamo breakdown, the song is tightly written and delivered slickly. It’s also the most unique of the tracks – after that, despite the breadth of styles, each individual form appears in a quite segmented fashion, and within each segment LOMO tend to sound a lot like countless other local and international bands. The verse to Irony Of Bitter Sentiment sounds like The Hot Lies, Rest In Pieces sounds like The Used – and while the band pull both off very well, they can’t seem to resolve the tension between their melodic pop-punk background and their more recent hardcore influences, and the two styles jar the listener as they compete. Closer Confessions Of A Wooden Box Liar jumps around all over the place without committing in any one direction for long enough to really kick into gear. For a band with such an obvious wealth of talent – as evidenced by the rocking Dearest Darkest, with its edgy verse and effortlessly syncopated dual vocal chorus – it’s just a pity that haven’t yet found the focus through which to direct their efforts.
Review by: Matt Vesel
RELEASE DATE:
13 May 2006
CREDITS:
PCD011
Recorded and Produced by: Darren Thompson
Mastered by: Don Bartley @ 301
