Watch Out Stampede – Tides

Bremen-based Hardcore act Watch Out Stampede (a band that is notoriously difficult to learn anything about) has, at some point during this year, released their full-length album Tides. It contains a grand total of eleven tracks, counting an interlude midway. This means, since Tides is, as mentioned before, a Hardcore album that the running total of the album ends up at exactly thirty-two minutes. Well, is it a good thirty-two minutes I hear you ask? And that, of course, is up to interpretation. The short answer is a yes, albeit not an overly big one. Tides delivers exactly what you would expect from a Hardcore album, with all the fast-paced, simple solos, relentless drums, powerful screams and (obviously) the occasional breakdown (although those are few and far-inbetween). As a matter of fact, Watch Out Stampede offers nothing new (which is not, in and of itself, a bad thing), nor do they stand out from the crowd in any particular way (the track ”Ironhide” being a notable exception). This means that, despite being a textbook example on what Hardcore music can and should look like, they fail in making it their own, so they will not stand out. And since they do not stand out, they will be difficult to remember.
That being said, the song ”Ironhide” is a great indicator of what Watch Out Stampede are capable of and, hopefully, also shows what direction the band will take in the future. However, sadly I was unable to locate it on Youtube, so please enjoy their second-best track present on Tides, ”No Confidence”.

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