Review Summary: A fresh take on the Deathcore/Metalcore scene, Knives Exchanging Hands is quickly on their way to become another well know North Carolina Metal band.
With
Hopesfalls,
Between the Buried and Me,
He Is Legend,
Glass Casket, and
Killwhitneydead coming out of North Carolina, one would think that North Carolina was a hotbed for Metal; however, this is not the case. Aside from a few other metal acts, all you’ll find is Post-hardcore/Screamo and Indie Rock bands. With the release of
Hiatus, Knives Exchanging Hands, KEH for short, stated why they’re be the next North Carolina Metal act to be mentioned with the bands stated before. Knives Exchanging Hands set out to pour Pure Aggression into a Cocktail glass and put a scoop of melody into it. So what exactly has Tragic Hero Records and Knives Exchanging Hands’ fanbase seen, and heard, to garner such a buzz around this release (by the end of the presale
Hiatus had climbed to 12th on Smartpunk’s sales chart)?
The first thing that pops out at you is the guitar playing. It’s very mature and centered to the sound they want for that specific part of the song. Even bands that have been around longer then this band do not have that ability. Even in a song that’s too drawn out for it’s own good,
The D.O.E. are Stone Cold Killers, the guitar parts keeps the song fresh and does not keep you bored long enough to skip to the next track.
Remember the scoop of melody I spoke of earlier? Well the guitars are the main benefactors of the melody this band brings, as shown in
Put on Your Dancing Shoes and
The Monuments They Build for you will be Mountains. They stop the distortion and chugging of the heavy parts and go into clean melody which is sometimes met with clean vocals. While this isn’t much of a Metalcore band, they lean more towards Deathcore, they do use clean vocals, and they actually enhance the songs they are used in. Most of the time, you’ll hear 2 unique vocal styles, which switches from one to another without hassle. They compliment the songs quite well, and the vocalists know when to give the instruments a chance to shine and not over stay their welcome. You’ll also find quite a few times when they use duel vocals. One of the best use of varying vocals happens in
Can Scarred Legs Keep their Cantor? during the line “Your eyes are so cold” when they use may different pitches and screams repeating the same line, which takes away from the actual song a little.
The drumming is the last piece of puzzle that pulls you in. He doesn’t try to be the best drummer or the fastest; he just does what will help the song on hand and nothing more. He holds the fort and he even uses the snare where the listener can actually hear it. My only complaint about the drumming is that there is so much potential in this area, but then again this is their debut album. Give this kid a few more years and he’ll be on top of his game while this band breaks onto a bigger label.
In conclusion, this band has set the wheel in motion for them becoming the next big thing in the metal scene. Are they reinventing the wheel? No, but they are a fresh sound in a scene that is full of cookie-cutter bands that sound the same and hope that there will be one band that will propel them all to being signed to Solid State, Victory, or Roadrunner. This band has a lot of potential and is young enough to keep growing and carving their niche.
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Score Breakdown
1. You Didn't Feel a Thing
N/a
2. The Smell of Florida After it Rains
4.25/5
3. Put on Your Dancing Shoes
5/5
4. As the Star Dies...
4/5
5. Factor X Divided by Numerical Code
4.5/5
6. Can Scarred Legs Keep their Cantor?
4/5
7. The D.O.E. are Stone Cold Killers
3.5/5
8. Give 'em a Little Bit of the Shillelagh
4.25/5
9. The Height of Narcissism
4/5
10. Save the Cheerleader, Save the World
4.75/5
11. I aim to Misbehave
4.5/5
12. The Monuments They Build for you will be Mountains
5/5
47.75 / 11 = 4.34/5
Vocals:
4.5/5
Guitar/Bass:
4.25/5
Drums:
4.5/5
13.25 / 3 = 4.42/5
4.34 + 4.42 = 8.76 / 2 =
4.38 Rounded to 4.5
nice haha. ill make sure to dload it went it gets sent out. JFAC are ruining the metal scene
