“The Renaissance” is E-Town Concrete’s third full-length release, and their first album on Roadrunner Records, a big step up for the band since “Time 2 Shine” and “Second Coming”, which were both released on small indipendent labels. Musically, the band offers the same as before, which happens to be the perfect mix between hiphop and hard guitar-oriented music. The 12 songs the band bring here are all heavy and share a mid-tempo groove, but songparts with acoustic guitars or just drums and bass make for plenty of variation. Vocalist Anthony Martini switches between flowing raps and gruff, shouted vocals whenever he wants to and the lyrics, which mostly deal with growing up in a shitty, industrial town in New Jersey, give the music a personal yet bit negative feel.

If you like your music shiny and happy, you might want to look for a different band, although songs like ‘Let’s Go’ and ‘Appetite For Distinction’ do carry a more relaxed vibe. ‘Appetite…’ and especially opener ‘Mandibles’ show off Martini’s immense rap skills and he easily puts the competition in the doghouse. Marshall Who? Check out tough-guy anthem ‘Battle Lines’ for a guest performance from Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta.