2007-09-16
I've been hearing a lot about this band, mostly positive stuff, and the band's brand of melodic yet aggressive metalcore has been receiving some very good reviews, with most describing their later material as closer to melodic death metal than their earliest stuff.
The band's fourth and latest release "Deliver Us", is definitely a very well made, very well played melodic core album, with some great production values and impressive riffs. But it's not the classic metal album some have made it out to be.
The album certainly opens up on a high note, some fine melo-death riffing with fast, relentless drumming. Vocalist John Henry has some very good screamed vocals, with the right aggression for this kind of music. The band's playing ability is untouchable, they certainly got that pegged, but when the second track kicks in, some of the weaknesses start showing.
First, Henry has a very good aggressive voice, but when he tries his hand in some cleaner, melodic vocals, the cracks are showing; they come off as flat and uninteresting, and they actually weaken the songs. Second – as brilliant and well played as the riffs are, some of them are just not strong enough, they impress with their speed and delivery, but some of them are just not on-par with others.
Devin Townsend does his usual top-notch production here, for the second time with the band, and I have to hand it to him for making even the weaker points sound decent, he covers up the weakest of Henry's melodic bits, and the crisp sound makes even the weaker riffs sound good, but when most of the material is as good as it is, it makes these weak point too obvious.
"An Ethereal Drain" contains some of the best riffs I've heard in metalcore in the last few years, and while "The Light At The Edge Of The World" is a short, and rather boring instrumental piece, the next number is probably the album's most aggressive cut, with some truly break-neck speed. It seems to me that when the band is at its most aggressive that is sounds best, when it tries to be more melodic, slower, or more accessible, things fall apart.
It's still one of the more impressive releases in metalcore this year, and the band's musicianship is easily among the best in the business, but I can't help the feeling it could’ve been better.
Alon Miasnikov
