Metalcore

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Some Call This Tragedy - No Man Without a Ghost (2012)

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    Being completely opposed to Metalcore shit, we find ourselves in a dilemma while listening to Some Call This Tragedy’s debut EP “No Man Without a Ghost”. On the one hand we despise Metalcore vocals and their formulaic approach to music, however we have recently been listening to bands that somehow manage to add some value to such horrible music, and thus we actually enjoy their music. This is the problem when listening to this EP, we love some of the melodic music that the band delivers, but here come the screams and we totally lose our musica boner.

    In this three song EP, “Burning Parts” delivers powerful riffing and excellent melodic passages. The clean vocals make this song very epic and create a very unique atmosphere, not traditional of typical American mallcore shit. In this track all is fine until the shitty screams come in and totally destroy the flow of the song, just like if we put a happy face sticker on a masterpiece like the Mona Lisa, preposterous.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    As I Lay Dying - Awakened (2012)

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    After being impressed (in a good way) by their previous release “The Powerless Rise”, As I Lay Dying returns with another cookie-cutter Metalcore release that might please the crowds of Mallcore kiddies, but not the Metal veterans. Having developed excellent songs for their previous album, it is kind of a bummer when a band waters down their music for the sake of record sales and pleasing crowds. As I Lay Dying has some musical chops, but in this release they just opt for the easy way out and deliver eleven tracks full of fluff that surely have a bunch of high-school kids cheering for them.

    While we have outgrown our hatred for Metalcore, we still hammer releases devoid of creativity and this is one of them. Since the opener “Cauterize” the band opts for a weird mixture of Scar Symmetry-meets-Soilwork approach that really sounds like the band is trying to be somebody else. The clean vocals are pretty ok, but the way they are used is already Scar Symmetry’s forte, and when you add breakdowns to the mix… it just makes us want to vomit.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lynchmada – To The Earth (2011)

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    Arriving from Australia today we have another run-of-the-mill Metalcore band that while having a few fine moments, it still falls short of being interesting and truly engaging. Lynchmada and their second full-length release “To The Earth” pack 11 tracks (50 minutes of music) of uninspired typical Metalcore that makes you wonder if the world of Metalcore itself is devoid of creativity.

    The album starts with the brutal “What Fresh Hell is This”, a very typical song that has powerful guitars and inhuman growls, making you believe this is actually a Deathcore release. The catchiness really starts on “Throat of Stone”, where the band shows off some nice groovy riffs but fails to move away from the traditional song structures of the genre. The breakdowns mark their first appearance here, and while there is some nifty guitar work here and there, there is nothing more to really enjoy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hyde Abbey – Hall of Shame (2011)

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    Originally released as a free download on the internet “Hall of Shame” marked the debut release of Spanish Deathcore beasts Hyde Abbey. Now being properly released through Suspiria Records, this album delivers 12 tracks of punishing Deathcore/Metalcore that will surely rattle your speakers for a prolonged amount of time.

    Not being our favorite genre, we are always skeptical about Deathcore releases since they are a dime a dozen and usually they all sound exactly the same. Hyde Abbey does a great job in delivering a very brutal and powerful sound similar to bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Oceano, etc, and while not being overly original, the band does create some very badass songs.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Confession – The Long Way Home (2012)

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    Coming with the label of ‘similar to Parkway Drive’ and ‘one of the best Australian Metalcore bands’, made us have very low expectations for this release. However, having been produced by Fredrik Nordström we started listening to this release with a full-clean slate and no preconceptions about it. Curiously enough, “The Long Way Home” is actually a pretty decent release if you take all the faggy clean vocals sections and breakdowns (the whole Metalcore crap from it). Confession has some talent, but trying to fit into a cookie cutter mold is what ultimately made them unbearable at times to us.

    After a trippy intro, “Confused/Hopeless” delivers pounding riffs and powerful vocals; all is good except that after a while the whole thing collapses with some horrible dreamy-ethereal clean vocals. Then the band suddenly goes back into full aggression mode only to come back very faggy after a bit. This is the main problem that we have with many Metalcore bands and that Confession imitates so well. Other tracks like “I Created This Horror” show some great chops at creating groovy sections with massive drums, but some weird elements here and there make you scratch your head (probably added in the mix).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Deadend in Venice – See Your On The Ground (2011)

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    As just another female fronted metal band, today we have the Germans from Deadend in Venice, a band that claims to play Melodic Death Metal, but sometimes falls into the Mallcore scene. We can’t really say the music is bad, since the musicians are very good and some of the songs are catchy, but just the whole concept and idea has been done to death that we can probably pick 10 cd’s at random from our promo collection and find at least 4 bands that are the same.

    Opening with “Hate Sweet Hate”, we have very traditional (but not bad) riffing and male screams (that are not to our full liking), everything is pretty standard and then the female vocals come. While the female vocals are not bad, they are pretty standard and sound almost exactly like Francine Boucher from Echoes of Eternity, in fact the music of Deadend in Venice sounds a lot like said band minus the progressive elements.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    As Likely As Not – Stand Up and Nerve (2011)

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    Hailing from Italy on The Execution Kollective Records today we have As Likely As Not and their debut full-length “Stand Up and Nerve”. Labeled as a mixture of Melodic Death and Metalcore, the band delivers a somewhat uninspired release that bridges both genres but fails to deliver in the important aspects.

    The band does a solid job in not being too Metalcore, but they also forget some of the important elements of Melodic Death Metal, like the killer guitar work and wide variety of blazing riffs that other bands tend to focus on. While “Stand Up and Nerve” is not the best album ever, it has some moments and shows some promise from this young band.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    The Empire Shall Fall – Awaken (2010)

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    Featuring ex-Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach, we were very weary about “Awaken” from The Empire Shall Fall. We never liked Jesse’s vocals on KSE and we also don’t like 95% of the Metalcore that bands put out these days, so we imaged that we would completely rip this album to shreds and call it a day. To our surprise we actually found and interesting sounding album with “Awaken”, an album that will put many of the current Metalcore shit to the ground and Tea-bag them all night long.

    Right of the bat, we still hate the vocals and we will not change our minds about them. The screams seem forced (like he has something up his ass), and the ‘growls’ seem weak in comparison to other dudes in the Deathcore/Metalcore circuit. Jesse’s clean vocals are as vanilla as they come, and there is nothing else to add about such a plain (and boring singer).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Mouga – The God and Devils Schanpps (2009)

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    We have received very solid releases from Mystic Productions from Poland until now, Mouga’s attempt at mixing Emo with Nu-Metal and some Metalcore elements fails terribly and the band just comes up with a garbled release that will make you want you puncture your ear-drums after listening to it for more than 10 minutes. Imagine we listened to it for at least 3 full spins before going on to write this review.

    We usually don’t like to put bands down unless they really deserve it, and for Mouga we feel that is our obligation to warn you about this steaming pile of shit of an album. The band’s attempt at mixing ‘commercially’ safe genres might be justified, but when there is no substance, and more importantly no music behind such an attempt, it just makes it crash and burn miserably.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sicarus – Strength of All (2010)

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    Today we find ourselves listening to yet another band mixing Metalcore influences with something else. While this would usually mean that we start laughing from the beginning till the end of the band’s release, we actually find ourselves quite impressed with the solid effort put by Sicarus on their debut EP “Strength of All”.

    Sicarus main strength lies behind the guitar acrobatics that Mad Scotsman and Jon provide the band with. We can make some comparisons with Into Eternity, Echoes of Eternity, Mutiny Within, etc. in this department, but the band does a great job at crafting a sound that does not rely on them too much (unlike the previously mentioned bands).

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