Review Summary: How can something to generic and predictable be so sophisticated?
This Hotel Is Insane! - Demo 2010
This Hotel Is Insane! is a melodic metalcore band from the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. They haven't been around too long at all, and haven't really been "accepted" really into the Melbourne hardcore/metalcore scene yet, which i think is a shame; 'This Hotel Is Insane!' is as generic and predictable as the rest of the bands out there. But the most unfortunate part about this is, simply the fact that 'This Hotel...' is BETTER.
Sure, they sound like every other breakdown-infested metalcore band out there, but their song writing skills are so advanced; which are shown so well in this tiny 5 minute demo. 'This Hotel...' pretty much have everything going for them; great musicianship, memorable breakdowns, catchy leads and melodics parts.......... the list goes on and on.
They certainly aren't stupid, that's for sure; they know how to craft a good song. They find a way to keep the 'sophisticated' music listeners attention, and still maintain to do all the chugga chugga bull*** that the scene kids adore so very much. The best part about their sound is how it works so well; the fact that they are sticking to their metalcore roots and still so much better than most of the other bands in the 'scene'.
'Intro' is pretty much just a build up of ambient noises, xylophones, and a distorted drumbeat. This 'Intro' only serves to build up to the main focus of the demo; "Sharks, The Ones We Feared". The song starts with a breakdown straight away, with layered screaming. after a few repeats there is a brief melodic interlude, that works so very well. After the interlude it goes back into the very same breakdown verse that had started the song. Once again the interlude comes up, then going back into the breakdown verse. This time, the breakdown becomes more melodic, and has a lead. The lead sounds technical and on the first listen i thought it was the start of a guitar solo. After this a riff comes in with the distortion turned off, with a some really cool bass and drum parts. Throughout all of this, the tempo hasn't changed, the riffs are in the same key; it flows so well.
The music becomes faster, then turns into a massive breakdown. It speeds up and slows down; making sure that the breakdown doesn't get boring. Eventually it leads back into the melodic interlude, and the song ends with the band speeding up again; with the riff staying rather melodic.
Pros:
Great vocals
Awesome guitar + bass work
Solid drumming
Great songwriting
Cons:
Metalcore bands this predictable shouldn't be so good! hahaha!
Overall, this is a very solid first impression for the up-and-coming Melbourne band. I can definitely see this band getting big. As long as they don't change their ideas and stay predictable, they'll do just fine.
