Review Summary: Liberated Sounds is a solid, enticing introduction to Counting Days, who undoubtedly will be heading towards a bigger future.
The UK metalcore scene is thriving now, just as it has been for the last few years or so. This scene has spawned countless successful groups who have gone on to prove promising newbies to the sub-genre both state side and across Europe, though to the disgust of metal "purists" everywhere. There is one group whoever, which has been spawned from the remains of some of the UK's more well-renowned metalcore bands, and they go by the name of Counting Days. The band is something of a supergroup from a metalcore point of view, consisting of ex-members of TRC, Heights and Last Witness amongst others. Does all this help to make Counting Days even more successful than these aforementioned bands? On the evidence of debut album
Liberated Sounds, definitely.
Liberated Sounds is certainly an excellent introduction for Counting Days. It is wholly consistent and mostly engaging metalcore by the numbers, so it goes without saying metalcore fans will love this, and annoy everyone else to no end. Yet the sometimes blistering heaviness of the rhythm section and that nostalgia effect the listener gets when hearing the likes of "Die Alone" or "Fire from the Sky" contribute towards what is effectively one of the freshest sounds in the sub-genre today. What nostalgia am I referring to exactly? Well, cast your mind back to a decade ago, back when Bleeding Through, Atreyu and God Forbid were all achieving world recognition for their efforts in metalcore. The sounds of these three bands seems to be cleverly reinforced through a modern twist thanks to Counting Days' onslaught of heaviness and aggression, and though the common traits of the sub-genre largely exist in every song, it's hard not to feel the enthusiasm of this album from start to finish. Songs like opener "Burned by Faith" almost verge on extreme metal because of the heavy, menacing performance from all five members, vocalist Thomas Debaere spitting out lyrics like Brendan Schieppati on
The Truth and guitarists Charlie Wilson and Bobby Daniels both bringing aggression to the forefront. There are melodic touches, such as on instrumental "The Vines" and towards the end of closer "Reunion", but the album is generally a hard slog through the more abrasive side of metalcore.
The album's flaw is when Counting Days decide to go breakdown-heavy and introduce a jarring stop-start rhythm, but again, it really depends on whether or not you like these common traits in the sub-genre. Songs such as the title track and "Days Go By" rely heavily on breakdowns but instead of adding a suitable climax to proceedings, they simply cut the flow of what is an otherwise impressive bout of musicianship. Of course, songwriting isn't going to be perfect when you regard this as Counting Days' debut effort, but considering the alumni of the group, metalcore fans would probably be expecting something a little more adventurous. The title track itself comes across as more of a wasted B-side than it does an effective contributor to
Liberated Sounds, and the narrative vocal delivery in "Days Go By" feels pointless when you're already expecting bitter vocals through and through. Essentially, these are the two downers of an otherwise engaging metalcore debut, but they don't do much to stand out from the pack either, which is why listeners will be advised to skip them completely.
With
Liberated Sounds, you can pretty much guess where Counting Days are heading: for bigger and brighter things. This debut effort is certainly a sign of greater things to come, and the members of Counting Days seem here fully committed to the task at hand, almost as if putting their previous bands to the bottom of the priority list. Counting Days give the impression that they're heading out to the rest of the world with the best bands in the UK metalcore scene, and fair play to them. Metalcore fans everywhere will undoubtedly lap Counting Days' debut album up. Let's hope the live performance lives up to those expectations.
