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It is certainly difficult to defend metalcore as time goes on. Less and less new bands are attempting to show ingenuity and redefine the preconceptions about the genre as a whole. Mindless chugging, tortured death-all-over-your-face vocals, and generic lyricism are unfortunately just a few complaints lodged at the bands associated. The fact that some bands do it well enough, and provide their own take on the same old formula is mostly negated by bands that refuse to deviate from it. Northlane are a metalcore band hailing from Austraila, with "Hollow Existence" being their first release. One can certainly tell that it is a first try, given the deriative presentation of the music. Breakdowns are incredibly over-utilized on the 6-song EP, punctuated by clean guitars only when they are gearing up for another breakdown. The band is not inherently bad, as there is some technicality to be found, as well as a raw energy that will keep some listeners entertained. The main problem is shown here to be an unwillingness to abandon the start-stop littany of chugging in favor of more interesting song structures.
"Hollow" starts off the album with a breakdown and desperate deep-throated scream, and although one of the stronger songs, gives one an idea of what they are in for regarding the remaining songs. The vocal range of the frontman Adrian Fitipaldes is very strong, but the guttural lows that he chooses for the songs on "Hollow Existence" are too reminiscent of other bands (Emmure, The Plot in You, etc.) to not sound contrived and similar. The higher registered screams are intense and well-placed for the most part, with Fitipaldes giving the strongest vocal performance on second song "Keymaker". This is arguably the best song on the album, as the acrobatic riffing shows what this band is capable of. It is unfortunate, as there are flashes of catchiness embedded in this song, but one gets the feeling that sometimes the band forgoes more interesting songwriting for pure heaviness. The production on this leaves something to be desired, but that is something to be expected given that this is their first album. Lyrically speaking, this band does not deviate from run of the mill concepts that plague metal in general, which is another check box marked in the generic category. Overall, the similar song structures make the 25 minutes of this release seem much longer, and the plodding pace can only be attributed to the lack of creativity displayed throughout. Even with the dismal output displayed here, I believe that this band still has the tools necessary to release something original in the future that will play more to their strengths.
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Album Rating: 3.0
wut, this is way better than Discoveries, js
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I actually haven't heard Discoveries yet, didn't know that it existed until you said something haha. What is the sound like on Discoveries?
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
similar to this, except the song writing is way more simple, they got really lazy with the guitars too.
gets boring pretty quick
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Eh, that's disappointing. I felt like they were going to progress, but now at least I can move on to more exciting bands.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
yea
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great review man pos'd. You did a good job of explaining why this band isnt' very good without being too harsh.
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Thanks again, man. They are as mindless as you can get for metalcore.
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No problem guess I'll stay away then lol
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lol this band is fucking horrible
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best northlane album considering everything but theyre poverty-status-production. remaster this and it will be the only thing they have going for them but will slaughter
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
My favourite Northlane album, Adrian's vocals are great clean could use some work in places but screams and growls are good and he exploits a wide range of vocal techniques. Great guitar riffs and breakdowns as well. Classic album first metal album I listened to, may make me a bit bias. lol
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Gave this a spin today after not jamming it in like 9 years, this still goes hard. Adrian did a lot more highs on this than I remembered, dude was going crazy on this
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
This having a higher avg than the new one brings a smile to my face
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
EP fucks, very underrated
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