The Union of Crowns - Bury Tomorrow

The Union of Crowns

Bury Tomorrow

Nuclear Blast

Rating: - 7/10

British Metalcore crew attempt to reinvigorate genre

                For the past few years Metalcore has been stuck in a rut. The old guard (Killsiwtch Engage, Shadows Fall, All That Remains) have all delivered below par album, especially All That Remains who’s last offering For We Are Many was so bland that it sank like a cruise linear in the Mediterranean. Bands such as Parkway Drive and The Devil Wears Prada have stepped out from the pack, this has to with Parkway being the best at the heavier end of Metalcore creating monstorous beatdowns, The Devil Wears Prada on the other hand have branched out from the generic Metalcore formula adding influences from the world of extreme metal especially on their latest release Dead Throne and the absolutely fan fucking tastic Zombie EP.  The new breed haven’t faired much better to be honest with bands like Rise to Remain, Of Mice & Men & Miss May I have produced good but generic records that reek of the sum of their influences, there albums aren’t bad they just sonically remind the audience how absolutely groundbreaking Alive or Just Breathing really is.

                The arrival of Hampshire’s own Bury Tomorrow, who on their second album The Union of Crowns have delivered the huge jump start that the genre desperately need. Whilst this album may not be as constant as The End of Heartache by Killswitch or The Fall of Ideals by All That Remains and may not stray from the template created by those bands. But it does make up for it by creating Metalcore anthems; the track Lionheart could rival established classics such as The Rose of Sharyn and This Calling. The band have clearly taken influence from the bands that inspired the first wave of Metalcore, riffs can clearly be heard that would have fit onto At The Gates albums or any band from the Gothenburg scene. This makes the album stand out from the rest of the bands in the scene adding a crushing brutality that has been missing from the scene for a long time, possibly since the very early Unearth and Vision of Disorder albums.

                Like fell British Metalcore pioneers While She Sleeps, Bury Tomorrow have resisted sticking to the formula and falling into mediocrity. Instead the band have strayed from the path and delivered a album that not only takes influence from what was great about Metalcore and moderises it will a killer production making everything sound as huge as possible. Hopefully more bands take notes on what Bury Tomorrow have done and follow their example. Metalcore could be in for resurgence.

For Fans of: - Killswitch Engage, At The Gates, While She Sleeps.

Crooked Teeth - House vs Hurricane

Crooked Teeth

House vs Hurricane

Rating 5/10

                Changing singers can be a dangerous step for a band to take. Take Iron Maiden, replacing Paul Di’anno with the almighty Bruce Dickinson propelled the band to new heights and established them as one of the biggest heavy metal bands of all time. However, when Van Halen replaced Sammy Hagar with Extreme’s Gary Cherone the band entered a period of both critical and commercial failure resulting in the band going into hiatus following the release of Van Halen III. With Aussie Hardcore mob House vs Hurricane on the other hand recruiting new singer Christopher “Chris 2” Shaw has proven to be a mixed bag.

            Lets start with the positives, the harsh shouted vocals make an amicable accompaniment to the meat and potatoes hardcore backing, the music doesn’t really do anything to stand out but the chugging riffs and breakdowns would please any hardcore fan. The beat & breakdowns pack the type of punch you would expect from a band with a song entitled “Get Wrecked”, which is performed and sounds exactly the way you would expect it to. As far as simplistic hardcore goes the music is more than acceptable and would serve as an ideal support band to a scene group such as Emmure or Parkway Drive.

            Sadly the album tries its hand at clean melodic passages and chorus’s. This is where the album falls on its arse. The clean vocals miss the mark by quite a distance, coming across not catchy and anthemic like Bury Tomorrow but whiny and annoying, like as if a 5 year old wont leave you alone on a long haul flight. The vocal lines fail to the standard and quality if their peers especially Architects who for my money are everything that House vs Hurricane strive to become.

                The album could have been vastly improved by cutting out the unnecessary clean vocals, the band suit being a shout along hardcore band with anthemic hooks such as While She Sleeps. Without developing their sound I fear they may fall by the way side and become lost amongst their peers. However if they adapt to being a straight up hardcore outfit hey could have a strong presence within the hardcore scene.

For fans of:- Emmure, Last Witness, Architects

No absolutes in Human Suffering - GAZA

No Absolutes in Human Suffering

Gaza

Black Market Activities

Rating: - 8/10

The Sound of Hatred

Pure hatred (not the poor Chimera song) is a powerful ideology used throughout all forms of metal and hardcore, creating the aggression and power that makes this genre of music as good as it is.  It appears whether in the form of despair (Converge), eternal damnation (Electric Wizard) or the pure act of despising the world and everyone in it (Touche Amore). Hate can inspire brilliance in any of its forms, just think without this powerful emotion would we have ever got albums such as Iowa by Slipknot. The eternal suffering that is Salt Lake Cities Gaza however is something that goes beyond hate and despair, creating a album that is not only bleak but also mercilessly crushing in its approach (take the cheerfully titled Not for all the hope in the world). The album takes clear influence from the almighty Converge with its use of pace and sheer white noise approach and production, whilst also mixing in crushing riffs that could have been on any Crowbar album. The album also brings in walls of sonic intensity which song eerily reminiscent of Neurosis. Creating what can only be described as sonic chaos.

One minute your having your face ripped off by rapid razor edged riffs and brutal pace to next track being pummelled into the floor by the heaviest and most sonically crushing riff ive heard all year. The production is dark and brooding, allowing the low end of the riffs to become distorted grabbing the listener by the throat making the punishment of the riffs all the more severe. From cripplingly fast drums to skull crushing doom riffs the album delivers the album into its six minute finale Routine and then Death which grinds the album to a thundering Holt with another of skull crushing riff.

If sonic hatred is your bag then this release is essential. Im not going to lie its grim, its very grim but my god it’s incredible once you get your teeth into it, Should provide a treat for fans of sonic intensity, ferocity and doom laden sludge.

For fans of: - Converge, Neurosis, Black Breath