Despite Exile - Re-Evolve (Review)

"I thought there would never be progressive deathcore which was ground breaking... I was wrong!"

Ever since Italian progressive deathcore band Despite Exile released their debut EP Scarlet Reverie, people have been keeping a close eye on them (including me). It was evident in Scarlet Reverie that Despite Exile had potential, and it was only a case of sharpening their music just that little bit to make it seemingly perfect. Well, it’s barely a year later and since their debut EP and yet they have brought before us Re-Evolve. If anything, Re-Evolve will continue the evolution of the progressive deathcore genre because Despite Exile is the superior. When I first heard Scarlet Reverie, I knew that this band was going to be good. However, I was not prepared for the sheer awesomeness, or magnitude of Re-Evolve. This, small, miniscule, three track EP has the potential to change everything progressive deathcore has to offer.

To be quite honest, when I first went to check out this EP I was sceptical about how Despite Exile would capitalize on the already-awesome Scarlet Reverie EP because from experience, bands that usually pull of excellent fluke debuts tend to slacken off in future releases. But, holy shit, this assumption that I made for Re-Evolve was completely wrong and it’s now clear that Scarlet Reverie was not a fluke. As soon as I got past the opening of the first track “Oscillate”, I knew then, that Despite Exile are back better than ever before. I don’t recall hearing any progressive deathcore ever, with as much power and potency as the deathcore on Re-Evolve. Re-Evolve is much more powerful and higher quality than anything else I’ve heard, which includes Scarlet Reverie. It’s almost as if Despite Exile have created a new breed or super progressive deathcore, the breed which will hopefully extinguish all inferior breeds and species.

The first thing that hit on Re-Evolve was the style of progressive deathcore, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard. When I think of progressive deathcore I think of bands such as The Contortionist and The Yellow Sign, bands which don’t have much potency or power to their music. Also, the music doesn’t hold itself together well, probably because they’re going for a pure atmospheric or emotional feel to their music. This is where Despite Exile comes in because Despite Exile have the best of both worlds, which is the main reason why I think Re-Evolve and the Despite Exile themselves are so great. They have heavy as fuck breakdowns and brutal as fuck pig squeals (obviously influenced from deathcore and death metal) along with beautiful progressive and melodic hardcore guitar work. I’d like to make an emphasis on the deathcore influence here because it does take priority on Re-Evolve. Many bands seem to put an emphasis on the fact that they’re combining deathcore with progressive  or melodic influences and as a result, it becomes dull and boring. However, Despite Exile have put their emphasis on the deathcore element in their music.

Sure, there are only three tracks, and sure this is only an EP, but this packs more punch than some full length progressive deathcore albums. Now that’s definitely saying something. Well, if I were to make a list of all of the different elements in Re-Evolve, I would have an extremely large list. The really magical part however (or the part which I think is magical) is how they’ve put all of these components together.

Usually when I listen to progressive deathcore I find that it sounds rather plain and abstract. Abstract, in the sense that the musical structure itself doesn’t follow any kind of path or direction towards a climax, which is little bit confusing sometimes. But when you listen to Re-Evolve, you’ll probably think “you’re a liar miniradman, this is really confusing to follow”. Yeah, sure, it’s confusing at the beginning, but as you start to settle into the music, you can easily see that it leads up to a climax which is either a heavy ass fucking breakdown or a beautiful atmospheric passage. That being said, there are parts where the musical structure is as confusing as hell. This probably stems from the heavy technical deathcore, or math metal influences in their music. It’s a little hard to describe with words what it sounds exactly like, but I guess you could say it’s just regular mathcore/metalcore with a really, really heavy progressive deathcore aesthetic. The best thing is that even if you don’t like mathcore or metalcore, Despite Exile shouldn’t turn you off.

When it comes to musical talent and production of Re-Evolve, it is far more superior than Scarlet Reverie. At least in Scarlet Reverie you could tell that Despite Exile was a relatively young band, now, they’re all grown up and ready to fulfil. They no longer have that childish nature to their music, but sound more mature and serious this time round. I guess the seriousness also stems from the increased production quality of the music. The recording, the mixing and overall production of Re-Evolve is far better than the production of Scarlet Reverie. The guitars have more ‘crunch’, the drumming has more ‘snap’ and “oomph” to them and the vocals are raspier and ‘rawer’, Re-Evolve is the better release and considering that Scarlet Reverie is still one of my favourite debut EPs of all time, that’s big.

There really isn’t much to say about Re-Evolve, other than it really pushes the boundaries of the progressive deathcore genre and it’s almost perfection. I think Re-Evolve would appeal to pretty much every single -core fan out there.  Like I’ve mentioned before, there are three tracks and all of them are worth playing. “Oscillate” is the technical and deathcorish opening to the EP, “Perfection Neutralized” has an atmospheric (yet powerful), progressive and mathcorish style sound to it and “Mechanical” is the heavy as fuck track on the EP. So for first time listeners, take your pick. I think that all bands, if they are around enough, all have their time for greatness but I have a feeling the Despite Exile’s time is very, very soon. Re-Evolve is defiantly the perfect stepping stone towards an epic full length. I can’t wait to hear what they have in the future for us!

19/20

Despite Exile - Scarlet Reverie

Despite Exile - Scarlet Reverie

Scarlet Reverie is Despite Exile’s debut ep which was self released in 2011. These guys are a metalcore/deathcore band hailing from Italy. STOP! Before you stop reading and say “ITALY! WHAT IS THIS?” I must point out that this is an excellent band and it’s rare to find something like this from anywhere in the European mainland. These guys have the characteristics of a UK or American metalcore/deathcore band. And well all know, that is some pretty dang good “core” music. As you can probably tell already, these guys are a mix of two different elements of “core” music, metalcore and deathcore. Now simply saying this is enough to get the heart pumping and the blood boiling because this EP is one hell of a ride. A ride that is sure to be remembered.

The first thing that I’d like to point out about this ep is how it’s of higher quality than what you get from your typical European metalcore/deathcore band. The typical band has a few raspy vocals here and there and hardcoreish style of music without any change in their pace or tone. This is what is usually found across the board from hardcore to deathcore all over Europe (with the exception of UK and a few bands here and there). Now as soon as I hit the play button on this EP, Immediately I knew that this isn’t like the others. It was something different, something that you wouldn’t find in Europe, something…special! The music actually had some kind of character to it unlike their other European cousins because when people think of typical European “core” music they think of generic hardcore it boring vocals and song structure. I can tell you now that this isn’t generic at all.

Ok, I believe that one half of Despite Exile’s entire sound is made up of pure deathcore. They display everything deathcore has to offer as well as all the other elements to their music. They have a really heavy deathcore atmosphere and it’s not the gritty/dirty/dark atmosphere that you get from Chelsea Grin or Whitechapel but the atmosphere reminds me of Bring Me the Horizon’s debut album Count Your Blessings. Not only this, but they display some intense technicality which is as good as any deathcore band out there if not better. Although the recording quality might be a little rough, their song structure and distortion of the guitars and the drumming seems a lot cleaner than your typical band that attempts this kind of sound. Now this is something your typical deathcore band doesn’t have.

What goes well with deathcore? Metalcore, perhaps is the best thing to accompany their deathcore structure and brutality, I must say, it works extremely well. There are many bands who attempt to successfully combine deathcore and metalcore as one, but about 90% of them fail. The problem is that they treat them like two separate components in their music. Isolating them which ensures that they even touch, if not they try and blend them to be both at the same time (which never works). Despite Exile has done something a little different. Rather than having one or the other, they have chosen to meet them halfway. There are times where they sound little a metalcore band, times where they sound little a technical deathcore band, and times where they sound like both! It’s just the constant changing of this that keeps the music interesting.

Breakdowns. This EP has them. The best thing about having metalcore and deathcore elements in their music is that they get the best from both worlds when it comes to the breakdowns. They use the slow, dark breakdowns that are commonly found in deathcore and also the more fast paced, energetic  breakdowns that you commonly find in metalcore. Although they aren’t anything special or memorable, it does spice up their music a little bit more. Their music wouldn’t be as affective if they left out the breakdowns.

Something UK “core” bands are known for and what these guys also posses are song writing skills. These guys have excellent song writing skills and it definitely shows in how well they can combine deathcore and metalcore in their music. Not only this but also their ability to create an atmosphere and memorable parts in their music without using intense solos or extremely heavy breakdowns. It’s clear that the song writer is musically minded and knows what type of sound he/she is trying to achieve. All the components of their music are perfectly placed and I cannot pick out anything that isn’t. I also like how they build up tension in their music. There are not many bands out there who do this, I’m not sure why because it makes their music even more seductive.

The last thing they have chucked in their music is emotion…just for fun. Many people consider emotion as an essential part of metalcore. I wouldn’t call it essential, but it does make it better. There are two primary places where their emotion comes from. The first place are the guitar riffs, I believe that the guitar riffs have the balancing power to make a song cheerful or depressing. The majority of the guitar riffs in this ep are slow, cheerful and powerful (a perfect combination). The second aspect of their emotion is the vocals. Rather than just utilizing your generic fry scream over and over again for any situation, they sometimes use shrieks to convey their emotion along further. But they don’t sound like black metal shrieks, not at all. Now if you put both of these elements to their emotion together… you have recipe for some perfect atmosphere and emotion. It just so happens that this ep has them.     

Overall this is a pretty good way to start releasing music to the public. I think that this release will definitely gain this band some momentum and I think their innovative style will bring them greatness. This ep is a complete package which consists of; technical as well as melodious passages, emotion, breakdowns, blast beats and much, much more. This will definitely satisfy any “core” fan out there who likes the more extreme side of things (metalcore and deathcore). So I recommend this to fans alike. I recommend the tracks Unanswered, Pure Crimson and Scarlet Reverie. These should give you quite a good indication of what this band is about and what they are trying to achieve in their music. Overall, this is an excellent ep with huge potential for greatness and I’ll be looking forward to what these guys bring out next. I give Despite Exile’s Scarlet Reverie an 18/20.