Let me go on by saying that I am writing this Despair review in the throes of having one of the absolute shittiest days in recent memory. And these shotgun beats, thick bass rhythms, high energy guitar and vocals that are using every available flap of lung all feel mighty good. Behold lyrics like "Tear at me. Stretch my skin. Pierce these eyes. Self inflicted damage. I'm yours, drain me. Take me for all I'm worth." Brother, you're reading my mind. I can say this: (1) Pattern Life is an earth mover; (2) There's a lot of strength to be derived from this record, just in case yours is feeling a little shaky.

Despair is just great at what they do. And what they do is hardcore to the extreme. Pattern Life is an amazing tribute to the hardcore genre. These guys love their music and it shows. One Thousand Cries is their 7", demo, and a live show. Definitely worth getting to complete your Despair collection.

Snapcase better watch out, these guys might just be the new kings of Buffalo hardcore. Supertight with a good recording and production. Pounding, energetic, and very heavy, metallic hardcore with hard yet emotional vocals that will knock your socks off if you're into that heavy new school style. Much, much heavier than previous releases.

BAND OF THE YEAR!!! When you think of hardcore you think of something emotional. Despair chews up hardcore and spits it out, and chews it up and spits it out, and eats the shit all over again. To see them play live is like being in a car accident without your seatbelt on and flying through the mother fucking windshield. This CD has the same effect. "Pattern Life" is my favorite song among the other 9 of them. Four schlongs up to Josh Trustkill and Despair. When you put this CD on, make sure you have your jock strap on.

First full length of this newer Buffalo band featuring ex-members of Slugfest and Fadeaway. The music falls into that brutal stompable moshcore vein but without the stupid toughguy lyrics. They are definitely Buffalo's best.

Stepping into the new school hardcore frame of mind, Despair is definitely holding my hand. The insert in the cd says "Hardcore. My strength. My release. The one thing I truly believe. To look beyond the fashions and the trends. You can't drag me away." This statement seems to be true with this album. It makes you feel overpowering with the music's serious guitar crunch and very punishing vocals. With ten extremely powerful and emotionally driven songs this album seriously rocks my body with energy and power.

The much awaited full length from this newly hyped sXe band. A good 10 song CD that is really representative of the sXe scene nowadays. Strong metal influence including double bass. One of the best live shows I've seen lately as well.

Heaviness galore from this Buffalo band. This is their first full length and will probably gain them a huge following. Despair play straight forward (though "Rust" is faster than most) northern NY hardcore, but their lyrics take them to places where other bands from that area can't get to. Topics covered are personal and are sometimes done in a visceral style, you feel what's being discussed. If you like your music heavy, check this out if you haven't already.

I hate to use an ad for a description, but when something is right, why not say it? Despair is the heaviest thing in Buffalo next to the snowfall. If you like your hardcore old or with a newer feel, this is an album for you. And these guys are one of the hardest and most intense bands I've seen in a long time.

"Tell me where you live and I'll tell you how you sound." This motto could easily fit Despair from the state of new York. Heavy bassiness and a brawler on the microphone are the biggest influences. Classic new school straight edge hardcore. Pattern Life could be a typical Victory or New Age band but it is released on Trustkill.

Despair are the next big thing. When you sound like Earth Crisis meets Snapcase meets Strife, you really can't go wrong. This is very metallic, but fast, like Strife. Where it is very different is in the lyrics which are very emotional and very real- good stuff and sung with gruff vocals it all comes together and sounds wonderful. Angry, but wonderful. A great release for Josh and Trustkill. Get this now.