Length Of Time is a Belgian Hardcore band from the capitol city Brussels. They came into the Hardcore scene more or less after the bloom of the H8000 scene. The H8000 Hardcore bands brought a message of Straight-Edge, Vegetarianism or Veganism and related ethics. Length Of Time on the other hand offer another perspective. They reflect upon the world in a more universally ethical way. They bring more common and wide-spread theme into the scene.
That theme is one of ethical challenge. Universal values and sins are discussed and are reflected. I will interpret some of the songs of the first album to give you and idea of what I am saying.
The first album “Approach To The New World” opens with the songs ‘A devil in a modern world’ a song about social misunderstanding and misconception of a person in a society. The will to belong to this society fades as efforts to do so lead to further conflicts. Better off living in hatred towards society. The second song ‘Loving Your enemies’ is perhaps the most ethically challenging. It’s about the feelings you feel when someone is perceived as enemy. In society double standards are very common and there are two sides to almost everything. It’s about hate and sympathy you feel at the same time. And also about the seven sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, pride and lust) that no one can change the existence of and that are omni-present. ‘Better evil’ is about the turning over to a more darker and more evil set of ethics in contrast to the past. And the realization that inside the devil makes his own place at certain moment. ‘Blood is the human race’ is perhaps their most satanic song. It’s about the human race that can’t live together in harmony. And the senselessness the author of the songs texts feels through the days. And the will to let the world come to an end. ‘Tendence To Divide’ questions the bad emotion of trying to hurt someone, why should we have it? And no emotion is useless. ‘Shorttimer’ describes that ethical dilemma of destructive emotions and the feelings of urgency that come together with it. As you are tested throughout daily life.
The first album definitely is a transition album into the Holy Terror set of ethics that were brought into Hardcore by the Cleveland Hardcore band Integrity with their album “Humanity Is The Devil”. Musically it’s blistering fast with fast drumming and riffs. They were perceived as violent and less compassionate by many in the H8000 Hardcore scene. As their mosh pits were more individualistic and violent. Not many people into the pit but one or two dancing too violent for others to join in.
Their second album is more down-tempo what makes the music heavier. Musically their best album in my opinion. Lyrically the first song picks up where the previous album left. It’s an introspective song. The pain he feels make him doubt the presence of goodness in mankind. People who live every day happily are questioned and perceived as to be caused by ignorance. The song called ‘Fear The Existence’ is a reflection about wordly existence. The existential duality of living and dying expressed by the forces of peace and war. Death who takes our loved ones from us is feared, the only force for survival is the power of love. Death is a part of existence. The title track ‘Shame To This Weakness Modern World’ might be about the inability of man to live with each other in peace. The song ‘All Is One, Is Love And Death’ is about the realisation that their message is spread upon the people who read and listen to their message and music, I think. I don’t understand much of the rest of the lyrics, only shards of their mindset.
As a side note and as a fun pressing fact; I would like to show to you that there are several shades of grey into the coloured pressing of their vinyl LP on Good Life Recordings. I’ve seen many grey copies but two weeks ago I found this darker grey copy. Might be a transitional between the grey and the black version or might be a hint of colour variation in the grey vinyl pressing. Judge for your self.
Finally the third and last album they did for Good Life Recordings; “How Good This World Could Be Again”. Obviously the spelling errors in the previous lyrics lessened and both musically and lyrically they stepped up to a higher level with this release. What’s new in this phase of their evolution is the coming of clean vocals besides the screaming vocals. Brutal vocals and clean melodic vocals go perfectly hand in hand.
‘Loosing My Heaven’ is a song that tells what others say, they say that the lyric writer is loosing his heaven by following his current path. And he realises that people don’t understand where he is going and what he is preaching. This might be the most typifying song, of their entire delivery discussed above.
After these three releases the band released two other albums, for different labels. The first off the Good Life label was ‘Antiworld’ that was released through I Scream Records and finally the last album ‘Let The World With The Sun Go Down’ on Gangstyle Records (GSR).
The conclusion is that after the glory days of the H8000 scene in Belgium, Length Of Time kept things interesting. The typical Hardcore topics of friendship, vegetarianism, veganism, Straight-Edge, politics, ecology were abandoned. They made place for these dangerous and challenging topics. Often at the bitter, dark, violent and aggressive side, these topics are still relevant to develop an ethical and critical mind. And deserve a place in the Belgian Hardcore history books.
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