WrenchInTheWorks

Can I profess my eternal, undying love for Wrenchintheworks? Theyre quite possibly the hardest-working band in Connecticut. Lately theyve been gigging, writing, recording, and generally logging obscene amounts of mileage on their battered van. They played to a packed Wallingford American Legion on Sunday night. Wrench was loose and spontaneous, letting songs evolve into improvised jams -- a rarity in a genre where songs often come to abrupt endings. Regardless of whether you consider them metal, punk or hardcore, Wrenchintheworks performance made it clear that above all, they are rock music: theyre unafraid to rebel against conventions. Dan Barry, Hartford Advocate - DAN BARRY, HARTFORD ADVOCATE

The sound known as metalcore has been on the scene for several years now, but only because of bands like Wrench in the Works . Back in the mid-'90s, an early incarnation of WITW known as Groundzero was among the first to blend the two genres together -- with frightening results. Now, a few band configurations and almost 10 years later, the members of WITW are still playing true-school metalcore. Instead of pandering to the crowds who want endless mosh fodder, they plow through songs of despair, hope, and redemption, leaving the crowd to sort it out for themselves.

WITW tore up the Wallingford American Legion Wednesday night last week, putting a cap on their tour of the East Coast. They've just released their first LP, Prodigal Transmission, and it's documented proof that these boys are in top form. Live, they seethe with passion and frustration. Guitarist/vocalist Justin Mehl strains into the microphone so hard that the veins and tendons seem on the edge of bursting. Drummer Andy Nelson snarls and spits his way through tribal tom fills. Darrell Tauro plays bass and shares vocal duties. He falls into a trance-like state as he tears through technical passages. Connecticut will never have to fear that its scene will lose sight of its roots as long as we've got veterans like this. - Dan Barry, Hartford Advocate - DAN BARRY, HARTFORD ADVOCATE

"In any effect, Wrenchintheworks (who was known as groundzero a few years ago) don't care and simply just try to blow out ear drums. It is like a blunt object, it just pummels with no remorse." - Status Issuse 29 Fall 2005

"Backed by a '90s-throwback metalcore sound, the raging vocals spew words of angst that lean towards Christian themes, mainly the torment of disconnection from God's grace. Myself, I like a little hopelessness with my disaffection, but it must be said that lines like "I've become spiritually cold / take me / drain me / purify" have an appropriately intimidating weight to them, especially in the exposed-nerve musical setting they're delievered in" - CB, Punkplanet.com

I'm sure a lot of you older kids like myself will remember a band called Groundzero. Kinda dropped off the face of the earth didn't they? Well, not really. Some of them did a band on thorp for a while called Emmanuel 7, and now they're back in full force, but not under the monicker of Groundzero. No, the 9-11 incident made it a little tough for them to use that name being that they're from the New England area. So they're now Wrenchintheworks, but they still rock as hard as they ever did.

I hate referencing people's myspace pages in reviews, but this is one I couldn't ignore. On the Wrench... myspace page, they posted they sound like Norma Jean. Now come on guys...last I checked, you were playing music like this before those new jacks were. Now I understand it's a marketing thing, but really, come on. All that said, when you listen to this album, it's proof that there are still bands out there that can write an amazingly heavy record, completely devoid of hooks, catchy sections, or any of that nature, and you still want to listen to it. In a nutshell this band is brutally heavy, in the same vein as Breather Resist, Coalesce, Majority Rule, and bands of that nature. I grew up on a lot of that music, so it's got a soft spot for me. Bravo boys, bravo. You've parlayed your work into one hell of an album, a little rough around the edges, but a great record still. By a little rough around the edges, I don't mean that there are some parts that you hear and think to yourself "what the hell were they thinking?" I mean simply this, the record is a little sample heavy, sure, some people get into that kinda thing, but I think the album would have been better without them. Other than that, my only real problem with this release was the recording quality. Now, I know being on a small label you can't expect the best of budgets, but they do what they can. Had Wrench... had a bigger recording budget and could of hit up Matt Bayles or Kurt Ballou, this record would have shined.

In Conclusion: Wrenchintheworks is not your typical band on today's market. There are a handful of bands still playing stuff like this, but they're few and far between. When you come across a group like this, you're almost required to check out their work. I personally feel a little remissed for having waited this long to review this album, but with site problems, server issues, etc. things happen. I'm stoked that I did get the chance to spin this album, and it's made it's way onto my ipod which is pretty big news by today's standards. Wrenchintheworks is summed up easily in one word: devastating.

Rocks Like: Coalesce, Majority Rule, Breather Resist, etc.. - riseandrevolt

Wow, how long have these dudes been doing this stuff? First, it was Ground Zero, and then they transformed into the much more progressive Wrenchintheworks. And they've been at it since the late 90's, but without too much to their name. Well, they finally got around to releasing a new recording and it follows in the tradition of what they've been doing for sometime now, which is heavy and spastic metalcore. Maybe that sounds too vague, but what WITW accomplishes with this is something akin to the harsh technical brutality of groups like Bloodlet, but with a little less of a prevalent and mutating groove, replaced instead with a sound that is a little more prog, yet still whiplash heavy. It's not the best thing I've ever heard, but it shows new-school (or should I say 'nu-school?) metalcore a thing or two about a thing or two. - hanginghex.com

WRENCHINTHEWORKS is a 3 piece metalcore outfit hailing from Connecticut. After a few years together they completed “Prodigal Transmission”. I ran across this band on myspace and wanted to check out the full album to get a good vibe. The track I heard led me to hope they’d continue their early metalcore throwback sound.

“We came to wreck everything and ruin your life… God sent us” is the intro line from an early 90’s film. At the repeated end “God sent us” you are introduced the extremely heavy sound of WITW. “Pale Fire” continually pummels you throughout. They offer a more power hardcore sound than your typical metalcore releases of recent years. This album could have fit well in the “Spirit-filled” days of Tooth&Nail.

“Tonight Is War” picks up the feverish pace and blisters through another track with some extremely brutal parts throughout. “Caterpillar” brings forth a similar sound, but this time adds a bit more melodic sound. - indievisionmusic.com