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, energeticbreakdowns 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.
Blind Faith is Nigromantia’s debut release. These guys are an unsigned melodic death metal band from Hungary and are here to try and reshape some people’s thoughts on modern day melodic death metal.These guys are not your ordinary melodic death metal band, they produce what some might call “pure” melodic death metal.
These guys are a melodic death metal band, now aside from all the “other” modern day melodic death metal bands who always try to be as brutal or fast as they possibly can. These guys take it nice and slow. Trying to concentrate on what real melodic death metal is all about. The simple way of describing what these guys actually sound like is to say that they just sound like a really melodic old school death metal band. Not too fast and not too complex, there is this certain vibe there that says “I’m old” but in fact these guys are the new kids on the block. Also, they don’t seem to be mixing their styles with anything else. It’s just death metal, no breakdowns, no pig squeals and not even screams. Yes that’s right, only growls are present here.
Although these guys are practically straight up death metal, they do have quite a lot of feeling in their music and its more of an upbeat feeling, which I think is rare to find in many old school death metal bands but extremely common in melodic death metal. Also, at times, it feels more like an atmosphere than just feeling. Now this is common in old school death metal. After examining these characteristics, the true nature of their music starts to reveal itself. It’s obviously a cross between old school death metal and modern day melodic death metal and it’s obvious that they have tried to include atmosphere into their music. The first dead giveaway is how calm the vocals are, they aren’t too abrasive and they are not spoken really quickly. Also, some of the vocals are whispered, which implies that they want to make the music soft. Another piece of evidence of the atmospheric side to these guys is the guitar work as well. They are relatively soft and there is no shredding at all. They aren’t as powerful as what you would find in a melodic death metal band, but they are of the same pitch.
There aren’t any really clear influences to this band since there aren’t that many bands that really sound like these guys. In some way or another, these guys sound a lot like if old cannibal corpse was a melodic death metal band. The vocals are the same and the styles are very similar. The style of drumming used in this album really does remind me of some of the older death metal bands out there. They have a really snappy sound to them, and are played relatively slowly. The atmosphere is a little harder to tell where exactly they came from but it sounds like something you would get from a suicidal black band because it does sound depressing. But there are more upbeat times than downbeat times in this album. When the emotional parts hit you, its easy to tell because you really do feel a complete change in atmosphere some times.
Musically these guys aren’t really anything out of the ordinary they have fairly generic riffs, vocals and drumming. Its either they can’t play anything complex or they want to keep the momentum of the atmosphere going, either way I think its not how complex the music is, but how its constructed. Now its this construction that these guys are successful at. They have kept the momentum of the atmosphere going really well throughout the whole album. The vocals for a start, they are nothing but growls. Yep, just your ordinary growls ladies and gentlemen, nothing to see here. If you enjoy listening to cannibal corpse growls then you would probably like this. Now the guitars, they are odd because they have a melodic death metal vibe to them but at the same time they contribute to the atmosphere in the album. They are played slowly and they aren’t overpowering like what you would expect from your ordinary melodic death metal band. Some might think that solos might sound awkward and bland when its like this, but it’s the opposite. It’s not exactly energetic but it sounds like something a 70’s band might play. They are quite fast but still have a smooth melodic feel to them. The drumming, like I mentioned before, they have a very old school feeling to them, its slow and snappy. Also, they use the top hats quite a lot when they play which is another good indication on what these guys are influenced by. There is not blasting here guys, it’s just slow classic drumming. The style of drumming really reminds me of the drumming that was in Cannibal Corpse’s debut Eaten Alive album, simple yet effective. I think they have slowed down the drumming to try and make it seem atmospheric, which it has successfully done.
There are a few good tracks on here, featuring some excellent old school melodic death metal. The opening track is Prayer to the Souls. Now in terms of quickness and energy, this is probably as fast as you would get out of the EP and as soon as you get past the intro, it’s immediately evident that they have put an emotional element to their music. This is basically the track that puts everything into perspective and sets the scene for the rest of the album, which has done. Now the next track Embrace of Sorrow is probably as old school as you will be getting in this five track EP. The guitars and drumming are slow and there are only growls. Also, they have included the style of atmosphere that you might expect from an old school death metal band. There is a real sense of age for that track. Fast forward to Darkest Journey and you hit the most melodic death metalish track, it is a little faster than all the other tracks and the feeling is more like a melodic death metal. But it is also the most atmospheric. The atmosphere within this track is almost beautiful, the emotion really sets the stage and the solo really fits in really well.
Overall this is a pretty good start to some not so ordinary death metal. On its skin, it might come off to sounding like your everyday death metal band. When it comes to musicianship, it is but the way they construct the music really makes up for this. The music itself have a strong sense of vintageness, which is very rare for a modern day band to have. Also, it contains some of the most emotional parts of death metal you might ever hear. There a few tracks worth listening to on this EP and I recommend this to anyone who likes old school death metal and open minded melodic death metal fans. I say open minded because these guys aren’t your ordinary melodic death metal band, be warned. I recommend the track Prayer to the Souls for people who are looking to get a good idea of what these guys are like because it basically summarises what this band is about and what it is trying to achieve. I recommend the track Embrace of Sorrow for any of the real hardcore old school death metal fans out there and the track Darkest Journey for melodic death metal fans. I also recommend the track Darkest Journey to anyone who likes atmosphere in their music because it does indeed have some of the most beautiful atmosphere out there. Overall, this is a decent release and is worth listening to, but for people who are looking for something totally original I wouldn’t recommend this because despite it being unlike other bands, it still feels generic. I give Nigromantia’s Blind Faith a 14/20.
Burying Saints is Before The Torn’s debut album release. Before The Torn is a Portuguese band which crosses melodic death metal and melodic metalcore together. This album was produced by Oh Damn! Productions. This album has definitely made a very good first impression of what this band is like and is trying to achieve. With a new wave of bands that like to combine melodic death metal as well as metalcore together on the horizon, these guys are up against steep competition.
These guys are one of the very few bands that are actually successful with combining melodic death metal and metalcore together. Many bands sound generic, boring, often slow and loose. These guys are totally the opposite. Some of the music on here can pack more punch on a single track that some of the other bands of the same genre can in a whole album. I think the real secret to their success is that they do not follow suit with the other bands. Usually other bands try to blend the two genres together to make a completely different hybrid sound. Now, what these guys have done is great, they have separated the two genres rather than trying to blend the music together. This is great because it induces two things. First of all it gets the best from both worlds and can grab people attention and secondly, it keeps the album as a whole interesting and not repetitive. Even though in some tracks they have both elements put together in the one song. It still feels like they have separated them. But of course, they have blended a couple of tracks together. But this wasn’t such a bad idea because it doesn’t work against them. It actually helps the album by adding more scope to their music.
There is a certain vibe that makes these guys remind me of a certain band that has very similar style to these guys. As Blood Runs Black sounds like a very close relative to these guys, they basically have the same vocal style, melody, guitar work and even structure of the songs. The only differences really are that As Blood Runs Black is a lot faster and they like to concentrate more on breakdowns that on anything else. Not to mention that one combines metalcore with melodic death and the other with deathcore. But other than that, these two bands are almost fraternal twins. Now I’m not saying that these guys are a slow and weak band. Definitely not, these guys can and do pack quite a lot of energy into their music. Sometimes the sheer speed of the music is more than enough to energize someone. And the best thing is that it actually makes sense, they don’t throw their melody out the window. The drumming can go insane at times and even the guitars can keep up with the pace of the music. The final thing that they added to seal the deal with the sense of energy is the use of breakdowns. They aren’t exactly the heaviest in the world, but then again, these guys aren’t the most brutal in the world. So it could have been weird adding breakdowns.
Now the final ingredient to their recipe of metalcore with a side of melodic death is of course, emotion. They are not many successful metalcore bands in the world that manage to get away from adding emotion into their music, I guess Before The Torn figured this out. These guys chose to go with the more uplifting type of emotion, rather than the more depressive kind. They have managed to keep the momentum going while these parts are happening as well which definitely a bonus on their part. Another thing is that the emotion doesn’t only derive from just one component of their music, It comes from the band itself. It comes from; the guitars and the vocals and yes, even the drumming. I think this is probably the highlight of their music and it’s their musicianship which makes them so successful.
Not only what the music is composed of is quality material, the way they distribute the music is also another thing that really highlights these guys. As mentioned before, these guys are very tight and really work in a band as a single unit. This is very important because the last thing these guys want to do is confuse the listener. Also, I honestly think that they have released their debut EP just at the right time because the sound that they have now suits them perfectly.
Another thing to point out is that each member of the band seems to be pulling their weight. They all seem to be sufficiently skilled to play like they do. Let’s start with the vocals, the vocalist tends to utilize his high pitch screams more than he uses his growls, but his grows are still pretty good. Another thing is that he also uses a more hardcore style of yell. The last style they have utilized are clean vocals, it’s rare for them to use it but when they do it sound great. Next the Guitar work, like any good melodic death metal band they use high pitch riffs and play with a high pace. What is excellent is how they managed to separate the melodic death metal style of riffs with the metalcore ones. These two styles in contrast really highlight the music and it sounds interesting and very filling. I think that the style of the guitar distortion and riffs they play are probably one of the most important things about this album.
Finally the drumming, the drumming is the main instrument that judges the pace of the music. I can tell you that the drummer has done an excellent job in guiding the pace of the music. I love the way he uses the Ride Cymbal, it just adds the best feeling to the music for some reason which is just great. He plays very well in both fast and slow sections of songs guiding the tempo of the band. He does well with the slower section but it’s the high tempo sections that really makes him shine. He can go crazy with the drums, it really energizes the music and gives it that extra kick. On the topic of “kick” he does have a very decent speed of his double kicks, they aren’t so over powering that it over powers the ordinary drumming, but isn’t so quiet that everything else over powers it. Now there is already enough to keep the music flowing and interesting, they have done this to ensure maximum variety.
There are some really good tracks on this album, although there is a strong sense of repetitiveness while listening to this album. The first actual song is The Fall Of Hope, now they have decided to start the song off with one of the best tracks in the album, The Fall Of Hope leans closer towards melodic death metal rather than metalcore. It is such a beautiful track with the best emotions out of the whole album. The music is tight, well rounded and isn’t too fast or too slow. Now the next track leans towards metalcore. The contrast immediately shows and it feels like there is variety in the album. Hands Of Salvation is a slower track that focuses more on melody than anything else. There is a very small hint of emotion throughout the track but It doesn’t really have much of an impact. There is only one problem with that track, and that is its boring, probably the most boring out of the whole album. Unfortunately once you hit the third track, this is where the variety ends and it stays boring until you hit the track Path To The Sky, this is an instrumental track. It is definitely the most uplifting piece in the album. But also it serves as an intro to the next track Broken, Dead, Defeated. Now this is where the fun begins. This is one insane track, the drumming is insane as well as the vocals and guitars. It is also the most melodic. Broken, Dead, Defeated is definitely the best track out of the album.
Overall this is one hell of a debut release. These guys definitely top all the other upcoming melodic death metalcore bands out there. The way that they combine the two together is very unique and musically they are unique. There aren’t many bands that sound like this, and if there are I doubt they sound have been able to do what these guys have done. This album could have been a master piece except that it was way too repetitive. But yes, it is their debut album and an album of this quality for a debut release is great. They might just need a little bit care with constructing their tracks and put a little more though into the way the album is structured out. All of these band members seem to be talented which is another rare thing to find because usually there is at least one slacker in the group, but are is none here. I would like to recommend this album to any fans of metalcore and melodic death metal, and also hardcore fans might find this entertaining as well. I also would like to recommend this to any fans of As Blood Runs Black and August Burns Red as well because they do have similar styles to both of them. Furthermore I would like recommend the track The Fall Of Hope to anyone who likes very melodic death metal with a metalcore twist, and the track Broken, Dead, Defeated as well. For maximum pleasure, I think it’s better to listen Path To The Sky first because it serves as an intro for that amazing track. These two tracks are guaranteed to satisfy fans of the genre.
Overall this is damn good debut EP that would not be overlooked. I think that these guys have already found their sound and with a little refining these guys should become big and could be the pioneers to the upcoming wave of melodic death metalcore genre. I cannot wait for their next album to come out. Burying Saints gets a 17/20
Instinct is As Blood Runs Black’s second studio album, this album was released in 2011 by Mediaskare and can be labelled as being Melodic Deathcore. The anticipation for this album was insane, after seeing countless polls and hypes on numerous websites and blogs. I know that people were waiting for this release with high expectations and higher hopes. Some people were more sceptical about this album and think that this album will be not as good as Allegiance and I have to agree. Although this is that case, it is still a bloody good album and As Blood Runs Black should be proud of this release.
The main thing that people were worried about was the new vocalist direction. I can tell you that they have changed, a lot. Back in Allegiance the used a more deathcore or death metal style of vocals, on Instinct the vocals are a little different. The style they have adopted a style that is primarily used in hardcore or post-hardcore bands. It has little distortion and the words get carried out a long way before ending. But the good thing is that they have not only used this style, they still use their old style of vocals as well. Their classic high pitched screams as well as their awesome sounding growls are in there as well. The vocalist does an excellent job transitioning between each style and he uses them according to the tempo or style. Say of the tempo was going a quickly he would use his highs and if it was going at a medium speed he would most likely use if hardcore style vocals. He does use his growls but not very often, in fact it may be a little too rare in this album. Another thing they have done is electronically manipulated the vocals a fair bit as well, nothing over the top but it is still something that is easily noticeable.
Another key change that they have made is the music itself. Firstly the music is not as filling for as energetic as in Allegiance but they do get fast at times and when they do it is awesome. Instead, they have changed to a more melodic style. They keep the pace of melodic death metal bands but twist the music into melodic deathcore with all the breakdowns and the song structure itself. Also, they have included a lot more guitar solos which make it sound even more like melodic death metal. So yes, melodic death metal definitely sounds like a major influence in this album, maybe even a little more than in their last album. Also the music sounds a little more hollow and directed at more emotion in the music. It really does have some kind of emotional attachment to the listener music wise, something that was not really evident in their last album. I have a feeling that not as many people will be head banging as hard as they were when they were listening to Allegiance. For some reason, the breakdowns don’t feel the same, they played in the same style but they sound a little hollow and unsatisfying. Actually, a lot of the music sounds hollow, I’m not sure if this was by accident or is part of their new direction.
Musically they are still very tight but they aren’t as fast as their older stuff. Before anyone hesitates listening to this they have kept some of their vital elements to their music. As mention before, the vocals, yes they have introduced more of a hardcore style to their music but they have still kept the highs and lows from before and they sound better than ever. And to be honest, I think it suites the music better than on Allegiance, because on Allegiance they sounded a little out of place especially the highs. Also they have kept the same style of guitaring. They are still tuned to their seeming trademarked pitch and is practically played in the same way as before. As for the rhythm guitar, now that has had some changes, firstly the pace is totally different from their first album, it is a lot slow. Basically the only time really shines is during the breakdowns. Other than that, the lead guitar overpowers it a lot. Now the breakdowns, for people who were fans of their old breakdown style, don’t fret because they are still the same. The same speed, same style and practically the same frequency. Finally to the drumming, luckily the drumming is still the same as well. The blast beats are still there and he practically playes exactly the same as on Allegiance, also he still utilizes his super fast double bass that people loved so much which is something I bet people weren’t expecting. I also think that his blast beating is a lot better as well because when he does it, the music goes from being hollow to being full which cannot be a bad thing.
There is one thing to note, because they have changed their style doesn’t mean their songs are any bad, in fact there are some very good tracks on this album. They have chosen to open the album up with a musical, to be honest I think that the way they did this is a little pointless because the music is not any different from what you are going to hear in the album anyway so why waste a track. But it does give you a good feel of what to expect from the album. The first actual song is Legacy and it does a pretty good job on summarising the whole album. It demonstrates their new style very accurately and where they are going. It has their new vocals, some blast beats and their breakdowns. The next track is a little different, Resist seems a little more progressive sounding than the others and more melodic. Also it is not fast as the others either, but they still have some very good breakdowns featured in there as well. Also it seems like that track is suppose to have some sort of emotional attachment to the listener. It’s just a vibe I get because of fairly slow tempo, progressiveness and a slow guitar solo. Usually a slow guitar solo is a good indication on what the intended feel of the music is.
Angel City Gamble is probably the best track in the whole album. It has every good element of the album in this one track. From the awesome blast beats and super fast double bass to some really good sounding melodies as well as being very technical on top of it. Not to mention a very good breakdown as well. It is probably the most structured and organised song as well. They seemed to put a lot of planning into making this wonderful track. That’s why it is the best.
Ok there is one thing that bugs me a lot about this album. I know it’s not really a big deal but what is the point of having two instrumentals in an album. What’s even worse is that this album only has ten tracks on it which leaves less space for the real music. The track Tribulations in my opinion is a waste, I didn’t really see the purpose of it nor understood it, and it’s just a short piano musical and violin.What was the message or its purpose of it, I’m not exactly sure. Not only that but I disrupted the flow of the music which was going so well. I think that two musicals are way more than enough for a ten track album. But I guess anything longer would have sounded repetitive so they must have had to improvise. The thing that would disappoint the most people is the different recording style they used. The new style makes the music sound extremely hollow which is a technical bands worst nightmare. This makes for some annoying gaps in the music and it sounds like it starts and stops all the time. But, there is a certain sense of freshness that is brought about from this which I cannot complain about.
Make no mistake, just because they have toned their music down their music doesn’t mean that they have completely abandoned everything people loved from Allegiance. Although some of the tracks may not be considered to be as good as the stuff on Allegiance I have to say, they certainly gave it a run for their money. They still have kept their original structure and style and who knows, some people might like their new direction. Hopefully they won’t follow the same path as Bring Me The Horizon and go from a technical treasure to a dull generic band. Because usually when a band turns into something horrifically bad, there is always an alternative. Since As Blood Runs Black is fairly unique, who is going to replace them?So yeah sure it’s a small step and they have exposed some of their innovation with this release, but is it in the right direction?
I strong recommend this album to any die hard As Blood Runs Black fans out there, it is sure to satisfy but don’t expect any miracles. I also recommend this album to anyone who likes deathcore and metalcore but fans of progressive and melodic death should at least give this album a go because it will only cost time. Furthermore, if you liked their old stuff you cannot go further than the track Angle City Gamble because it’s the closest you will get to their old stuff. If you prefer a more progressive feel to your music try the track Resist. It has a different vibe from the other tracks in the album. If you prefer more technical music and faster, there is nothing that is overly technical but the track Echoes Of An Era is fairly technical and it’s the closest to melodic death on the album. So overall I don’t think it is as good as Allegiance but it is still an excellent release. Put it this way, if this was their debut release these guys would still be a more than decent band. The fact that they have taken a small step backwards worries a lot of fans, which only makes people wait and builds more anticipation for their next release. Also it felt like I was left hanging at the end and wanting more. Overall Instinct gets a 16/20.
