Review Summary: Metalcore that slipped under the radar.
Despite Eighteen Visions ‘tried-and-failed’ commercial albums (
Obsession and the laughable
Eighteen Visions), the band was an actual player in amongst their O.C. metalcore scene. Their sophomore album
Until the Ink Runs Out is a tremendous step up from their debut
Lifeless and contains a rarely found, recognizable song writing approach that seems to be lost in the vast land of metalcore bands that simply rely too heavily on using a breakdown as the crutch to their songs.
Upon first listen, you will instantly realize that
Until the Ink Runs Out is created from a murky production that coats the music in a very eerie tone, giving this metalcore a very filthy feel. Yet somehow, the murky tone is balanced extremely well with a sound that’s equally brutal and clear at the same time. Between pummelling you with slam-dance breakdowns and hooks that you could visualize a swing-crane knocking down buildings to, Eighteen Visions dabbles in the art of movie making as well. Besides this being rather obvious through songs titles, this is quite apparent on the song ‘Champagne and Sleeping Pills’, opening with a famous scene from Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “
The Shining” and ending on a repetitively hypnotic line, making hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. A lot of bands use soundclips to enhance a feel to a song but Eighteen Visions tastefully approaches the use of movie mayhem and amalgamates it into their brand of creepy metalcore effortlessly. Noteworthy ‘Elevator Music/ The Nothing’ uses a similar approach; the song spastically runs out the door and incorporates an uncomfortable passage midway through the song that is truly disturbing.
What more is there to say about a metalcore record besides breakdown after breakdown?
Until the Ink Runs Out may offer something for metalcore fans that are tired of the sub-genre that has completely run itself into the ground.
Until the Ink Runs Out puts most metalcore to shame and should be recognized for its honest brutality and creative/ frighteningly nightmarish song writing.
