Germany's Ibbenbüren based Hardcore act was founded in 2007 (which makes it the oldest still remaining act in the genre from that area), and the outfit released a well-received EP entitled Sin a year later. The band went on to tour with the likes of Ritual and Seed Of Pain, and shared stages with Ruiner, Death Is not Glorious, The Blackout Argument, Nine (all bands which had sóme impact on the scene, and none of which are still around today), and The Ocean Collective, amongst many others...but then along came a hiatus of silence around the band.
In the background of internal conflicts and economic crises (as in several of 'em), the band (the line-up of which currently consists of singer Basti, guitarist Georg, bassist Niko and drummer Phil) continued to work on the material for their debut full-length in true DIY ethic, handling every aspect on their own, from recording to mixing and mastering, over artwork and videos and even making their own bio sheet which is given with the download promo, brought to a wider public through the channels of Let It Burn Records subsidiary Acuity.music.
The band promotes its music as “...passionate Rock Music with that special Hardcore Edge...”, and if that makes you wonder what-on-earth is meant by that statement, you're not alone. The only answer I can think of, is that the band members themselves might've been listening to their parents' old “Rock” albums, and have been endeavouring to incorporate some of the melodic aspects of that genre into their music, leading to the indeed quite melodic (though still straight-forward and loud for the most parts, except for some intros) Hardcore stylings the band plays today. Vocally, the screamed style however finds the band remaining in Hardcore Punk settings, no doubt about it! Without any explanations as to the title of the album, I can only surmise that the guys use their songs to display their views on today's society, or parts thereof. A theory which I base on the quite slim fact that the instrumental “Interlude” was not given a “dive” numbering on the album...not having any lyrics, therefore not expressing a view on any subject...see what I mean?
Anyway, those interested in the messages that go with the songs can find out about that at (http://) stormandstress.net, where you should also be able to stream the complete album, and view the video for the track “Silence” (“Dive VII” on the album, and far from coming true to its title, soundwize). Further video material (a couple of featurettes of the band in the studio) can be found on the band's facebook page. Oh...and would you believe it...(?)...I just found out a vinyl version of the album would be available from Cobra Records! I just might try and get a copy of that then, because I really like what this band does! In fact, I like so much that I'm adding the album, retrospectively of course, to my 2013 year-lists!