The Separation - Hc From California !

Francisco Ilabaca

Hailing from Redding, California, The Separation is one of the most promising bands coming out of the state of California in the past few years. Featuring former members of Set It Straight, The Separation plays a blend of hardcore that sounds like a mix between Neurosis, Cursed and Left for Dead yet still retains an original and distinctive sound: dark, eerie, and very very heavy.

The Separation have released a demo, a split with Restrained (another great but now defunct California band) and a full length on Glory Kid Records (www.glorykid.com) in their short history. The lyrics are rich and full of messages, usually very well written and ranging from politics to religion to isolation. They are also what we like to call a "tour machine", having already covered most of the United States in a number of tours. Their 2009 release, "No Exit" on Glory Kid Records stands out as one of the finest hardcore records to have been produced by this young and upcoming label, and in my opinion was one of the best releases of last year. The record itself has a very rich sound, apparently the product of having worked with analog machines rather than digital recordings when mastering the music. The song writing is superb and each song flows from one to the other, including a couple of interludes thrown into the mix. The vocals are very harsh and full of emotion, and it complements the musical element in just the right way. They are already planning another U.S. tour with Lockstep (Another up and coming California band, featuring members of Gather and The Separation), and possibly another LP for this year.


You can listen to some of their tracks at www.myspace.com/theseparationca