The 1990s metalcore I’ve heard to date has been mostly from the hardcore punk side of things. But though the implication on RYM and on wikipedia is that this is from the hardcore punk side of things, to me it sounds considerably more from the metal side of things. Maybe that’s just due to the singer.
That was a surprise and at first it threw me off a bit: “this isn’t really metalcore” is what I thought. (You’d think maybe it would be the “Christian” lyrics that would throw me off.)
But instead I came to realize that just because something doesn’t sound like Converge doesn’t mean it’s bad. Really, it’s quite the opposite. I should be glad there are alternative styles within a specific genre. The thing I supposedly hate about metal is its blind adherence to genre conventions. So shouldn’t I be happy this doesn’t sound like Converge?
The lead vocalist is probably the main reason why I was so confused initially, as he sounds more like a death metal vocalist than a punk vocalist. And most of the music behind him as more in common with (some) metal than it does with punk. But this fusion of aggressively angry vocals and metal precision with things that are definitely not metal – do I detect a Slint influence on “Ravage Ritual”??? – probably do throw it into the metalcore camp.
And why am I so damn worried about what genre it is anyway? It’s loud and heavy and pummeling and it doesn’t sound like anything else I’ve heard.
Great.
8/10
All tracks written by Zao.
- “Lies of Serpents, a River of Tears” 2:39
- “To Think of You Is to Treasure an Absent Memory” 4:27
- “A Fall Farewell” 2:56
- “March” 3:51
- “Ember” 2:26
- “Ravage Ritual” 3:15
- “Fifteen Rhema” 3:33
- “For a Fair Desire” 3:03
- “The Latter Rain” 6:28
- “Violet” 7:18
- Dan Weyandt – vocals
- Russ Cogdell – guitar, bass
- Jesse Smith – drums
- Brett Detar – guitar, bass, piano