Of Whispers released their debut EP release early 2011. With the success of their self titled debut demo released in 2010, these guys were speculating on how they could they could follow up such an excellent demo. Well… they found a way, and I don’t think they could have done it any better. These guys bring a whole new level of beauty and emotion to the relatively untouched genre melodic hardcore, while mixing in elements of metalcore and deathcore to create this masterpiece.
I believe the key element of their music is definitely the beauty the music contains. Now, not many people have heard of melodic hardcore because what people usually associate it with is metalcore or post-hardcore. Of Whispers is a tough one to place in either of those genres mainly because they don’t belong to them. They are melodic hardcore, the song structure is of hardcore style, the riffs and drumming styles seems to be related to hardcore more than post hardcore or metalcore and they have hardcore style breakdowns. Although in this case, it is acceptable to place them in post-hardcore or metalcore because the fans of either genre are bound to like this. Now, I honestly believe that this could be the most beautiful “core” EP that I have ever heard and I’m not exaggerating this at all. This is mainly due to the combination of instruments used (obviously), they have involved more than just your generic guitars, bass and drums, there are also violins, pianos (not keyboards) and electronic elements as well. It’s a little hard to say in words or stress how big of an impact the beauty has made, it is essentially what makes the music so appealing.
How have they supported this element of beauty in their music… with emotion of course! There is definitely a presence of emotion here and that is beyond reasonable doubt. Although it’s not as strong as the beautiful side of things, it has made its presence apparent. Now the thing that I admire the most about this band is that they have not tried to make emotion the headline factor in their music. I mean sure at times they might have little snippets here and there but it doesn’t take up anymore than 20% of the music. Also I think that they have used the correct style of emotion not only for the pace of the music but also because it does a great job of supporting the real headline element which is their beauty. This is another thing that suggests that this band has more hardcore influences than metalcore or post-hardcore because modern hardcore bands typically don’t utilize clean vocals or heavy emotion. Also, they don’t just talk about women and how emotional and heart breaking their life is in their music. The lyrics go even deeper than that, it’s almost poetic.
Now that all the lovey dovey stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the real business… the metal business. This EP is more than just emotional and beautiful, it packs quite a fulfilling energetic punch. Yep that’s right, it ranks higher on the intensity scale than what people may believe. The music definitely has the intensity and oomph that you would normally expect from a metalcore band. Yeah, they have breakdowns and reasonably a fast pace to their music, everything a “core” fan would ever dream of… isn’t it? Now the amazing thing is how they have managed to incorporate both beauty and emotional elements in with the relatively harder stuff. This just adds even more contrast to the music and makes it even more replayable.
Musically these guys are pretty skilful, and I think that many people would find that a little odd coming from a young “core” band because usually skill comes with experience and these guys have little and are only a young band. Surprisingly, the music is quite complex, which is rare to come from a band whose music rather soft and delicate. Don’t get me wrong though, these guys are still far being mathcore, in fact these guys are everything but mathcore so don’t worry about that.
The vocals and guitars are in my opinion the key factors in this bands music, largely because they are the two components of their music that contributes largely to the beauty element. Of Whispers utilizes three types of vocals, the first one to mention are the growls. They are really quite deep and extremely raspy and abrasive. It sounds like someone has just got your ordinary fry screams and growled them. The best and intriguing thing about this style is that it still sounds very relaxed as well. It’s not gutturally so It doesn’t sound like he is yelling at you, this in turn keeps the music sounding beautiful and ambient.Obviously, the next style I’m going to mention are the ordinary fry screams. There are two particular styles that they use. The first one sounds like a toned down version of The Amity Affliction’s vocals and the other one sounds more like the childish shrieks made by Chelsea Grin. The last one is the yelling which is also the most common of all of them. They sound almost exactly like the most recent of Bring Me The Horizon’s vocals, it’s the type where it sounds like someone is just trying to scream their lungs out without any tone or distortion. It’s actually quite affective in creating emotion in the music.
The guitars also play a major role in creating the atmosphere in the music as well, the high pitch tremolo picking being the main culprit in creating atmosphere most of the time. But the actual tuning and chords that are played would have to be equally responsible. The guitars are very versatile instruments and can be played in a variety of ways. Of Whispers have taken full advantage of this and decided to push things to the limit. At times, the guitars sound very heavy and distorted and they are played in such a way that it almost sounds like deathcore. On the contrary, there are times where they play just like an ordinary post-hardcore or punk rock band. This is definitely noticeable and is just another thing that stops the music from sounding repetitive.
Now to the drumming, the drumming is often considered as one of the major factors in a bands music because it determines the pace and energy of any particular track. Well… the drummer has done and awesome job at this. The drummer controls the pace really well and he comes out at the right times. I noticed that in the high energy sections of songs, he likes to makes himself conspicuous but during slower more emotional parts, he seems to make himself scarce. This is great because it doesn’t seem like he is overpowering or trying to take over the music. Also, the drummer plays more like a hardcore drummer. He utilizes the top hats a lot more and the beats are fairly unorganized and loose, which is a common trait amongst the hardcore genre.
There are a decent amount of tracks on this EP, in which they have randomly pulled out within one year. Even though the follow up was relatively quick, it didn’t substitute for quality at all and that’s the most important thing as far as I’m concerned. The opening track is a musical called Genesis, I’m guessing it’s just there to set the scene and the emotion for the rest of the EP. There are some pianos and violins being played but it’s not very interesting and doesn’t have much replay value to it. After the short and relatively boring intro, there are some many great tracks. The first actual song is Bridge To The Sun and it’s the track that provides the first and lasting impression for the rest of the EP. It is definitely a beautiful track, it is wonderfully constructed to be quite fast and filling as well as beautiful. It’s definitely one of the best tracks on the EP. The next track is For Gold And Glory, this is probably my favourite track on the whole EP. It’s well written and is extremely uplifting but also has a really emotional part in the song which actually provides emotion (unlike other poser bands). This has to be the best track on the EP and it’s definitely one of the most memorable. The last track to mention is the remastering of the track Conquest, it has undergone some slight changes since we have last seen it at the demo stage. To be perfectly honest, I liked the demo version better. Partly because I think that the demo version was a lot tighter and everything down to the last beat was just perfect. The new version seems to have a few glitches and the most noticeable one would have to be that the vocals seemed a little “out of place”. Unlike the 2010 version which was almost perfect.
Overall, this is one hell of a way to follow up such a great demo. I honestly thought it wasn’t possible for them to match their demo. But… I have to admit, I did enjoy their demo a little more than this EP but that is probably because the demo was shorter and seemed like 10 minutes of pure gold. But this EP is longer and better in the sense that it is recorded in higher quality and the music is even more beautiful. So in those respects, it was better. I recommend this EP to any “core” fans out there because one the best thing about this band is that they would most likely appeal to a wide audience. Everyone from hardcore to deathcore fans will most likely enjoy this. I would also like to recommend the track For Gold And Glory because it encompasses everything that is great about this band and throws it into a single track. I honestly think that this will be one of the most memorable EPs of 2011 and I am certain that Of Whispers will strike it big in the near future and if this EP doesn’t do it for them, it’s definitely going to be their debut album. Overall, this is an incredible EP and I give Of Whispers’s Conquest a 17/20.
Of Whispers self released their debut demo in 2010, this young band came out of Melbourne which is always a great sign. These guys are a Metalcore band but they also sound like they have strong post-hardcore and deathcore influences as well. Not only do they really create a good representation of the genre, they also implement very strong emotions and moods in their sound. Musically they are pretty good as well, they don’t try and over complicate the music but it still satisfies.
It’s obvious that Of Whispers have mixed quite a few different genres and influences to create this masterpiece. Although this is the case, I cannot say there are entirely original. Rather than coming up with something new, these guys have managed to get everything everyone else has failed at and have just beaten them at their own game. They have put together better riffs, breakdowns and vocals. Not only this but these guys seem to be very musically minded in the sense that they seem to be very good song writers and the music structure is very good indeed. Also, even though this is just only a demo there is no evidence that says that they have “rushed” this because even though there are only just three tracks on the demo they all seem to be different and unique in their own way.
It’s not exactly clear on which genre exactly these guys stand as but definitely somewhere in the triangle of Metalcore, deathcore and post-hardcore/screamo. Even though the lines which they have drawn and unclear they seem to give the listener a very good representation of the “core” genre. They don’t seem to have any influences from outside genres. This is really good because many “core” fans don’t usually like their music contaminated with something else such as nu metal or death metal. I would consider these guys to be 100% pure “core”.
Another thing that they have done well and is considered vital to their genre is the way that they have implemented emotions and feeling into their sound. They have don’t used a combination of different styles to really set the scene for their music which is a mix of sad and happy emotions. The emotions have not only been brought up the music itself but its mainly the vocals. The style the vocalist uses is similar to new Bring Me The Horizon vocals to pull up some emotion. It’s not a metal scream or a growl as such, but more of a yell for help or despair. This really does highlight the emotional side and the music just embraces it even more.
So it’s obvious that emotion is one of the major elements in their music which is a good thing, but that doesn’t mean all of it is emo stuff. They can get pretty serious at times and unlike Oliver Sykes, Tim (the lead singer) can actually scream and growl very well. He tends to use a combination of death growls/screams and fry screaming. Not only this be he doesn’t sound like he is in monotone all the time, he likes to mix things up with different pace, pitch and style.
The music itself it also very tight, out of the whole thing I couldn’t find any of beat notes or where the music becomes very loose. This release features some great musicianship and it is very clear that they know what they are doing and they aren’t just some cheap wannabe band. They are so good it seems that they have some kind of mainstream feel to their music which is funny because they are the opposite. What really makes this band especially intriguing is that they have kept the music simple, they haven’t filled the thing up with random guitar solos or drum solos. Rather than showing off how well and individual can play, I think they have successfully shown off how well they can play as a band which is a lot more important.
The most excellent thing about this release is that even though there are only three tracks on it, there is so much variety to choose from and each track is unique in its own special way. They practically all have different moods and emotions thus reflecting very different vibes.The first track Shots, Vomits And Empty Wallets is a fairly averaged paced track with some elements of emotion. The riffs are fairly well balanced and the music is fairly easy going. It’s something I would listen to If I wanted to relax. Once you hit the next track Conquest you then realise what these guys are all about. It really is a perfect combination of emotion and heaviness. It features some pretty impressive breakdowns but the highlight of the track would definitely the emotional side. Also there seems to be a sense of ambience beauty in the music especially when you get towards the end of the track. The final track If Sheep Had Shark's Teeth is probably the standout track in the demo. The music is tight and the song structure is almost perfect. It’s not overly extreme but at the same time it’s not dead boring either which is a great thing. If Sheep Had Shark's Teeth seems sound more like a mainstream song than the other two tracks on the demo.
Overall this is one hell of a debut demo and with enough publicity I predict that these guys will become huge. I can’t imagine any “core” lover not liking this band; it’s the type of music where words can only describe so much because the music speaks for itself. The music is seemingly perfect and it features everything a “core” fan would expect. It has the emotions of post-hardcore, the song structure of Metalcore and at times it can get as extreme as some deathcore bands out there. I would very highly recommend this album to anyone who likes the “core” genres , it is guaranteed to satisfy. Also I recommend the track Conquest for people who like a little bit of originality and beauty in their music and the track If Sheep Had Sharks Teeth for people who prefer a more mainstream feel in their music. Overall I give Of Whisper’s debut demo a 18/20.
