Review Summary: The Naturals features some good ideas which are terribly presented.
Since its introduction to the mainstream several years ago, metalcore has unfortunately turned into a moderately safe and predictable genre. But that’s not to say that it hasn’t lost its appeal for me. It is bands that have their own recognizable or even trademark characteristics that make enjoyable albums. Even the tiniest of things can make me appreciate a band that much more, something that’s present which makes the group distinguishable. The skull crushing breakdowns of August Burns Red, the beefy sound of Unearth, the tone driven riffs of As I Lay Dying, and the perfect balance of heaviness and melody of Killswitch Engage are all examples of how bands can have a trademark characteristic. Band’s that perfect certain aspects of the genre are the ones which will stand out now, and in turn survive the trend. It is safe to say none of those bands are reinventing the wheel, but lets face it metalcore does not rely on that. Instead it focuses on songwriting, emotion and what little traits a band can perfect. Being as Catherine often struggles to put together strong, complete tracks and offers nothing new or unique in the process, it is no surprise their second record is a near disaster. Its surprisingly intense bursts are unfortunately overshadowed by lackluster composition, predictable structures, and just down right weak tracks.
It’s quite unfortunate that lackluster material comes so early in the record. These ‘filler’ interlude tracks are about as common as a drop C breakdown on a metalcore record but Catherine really takes this style to new heights, or actually to a new low.
“First Take” is a seven (7) second intro which has a door opening and closing followed by someone clearing their throat. Being as there are only ten tracks present, this is absolutely inexcusable. However, the title track kicks and almost redeems the intro. Listeners are hit with a wall of sound courtesy of some blistering drums, a fury of riffs, and a passionate yell. Riff wise the track is extremely standard. They successfully balance down tuned riffing with some higher more melodic based leads. Screaming wise things sound quite inspired but it is when the other end of vocals comes in things go downhill quick.
“The Naturals” is an enjoyable track until the clean singing and acoustic rhythm guitar is introduced. It is a terrible attempt at making the track epic and comes off as overdone. On the surface this might seem like knit picking but it drastically disrupts the flow of the track and makes the ending drag on far too long. Sadly this ends up being the story of the majority of the record, as the group struggles to put together a complete track.
However, that isn’t to say the group does not have good ideas present, as they certainly do.
“Tailor” has an incredible moderate tempo melody based section and features some of the best clean singing on the record. It is catchy, energetic and is ultimately ruined by a tediously long and incredibly standard breakdown. Possibly the best example of a merely decent song with some incredible sections is
“Light Bright”. While the opening is quite mediocre, things pick up in the middle. After a short clean singing section, there is an immense crescendo into a double time passage complete with a shredding tap lead and some pummeling double bass. Unfortunately, the track just lasts too long and ends up extremely disappointing. There is an acoustic bridge which sounds like it is going to build up into an epic final section but instead ends up fading out. The group lets a golden opportunity for a breathtaking ending slip away courtesy of mediocre songwriting. Eventually they pull everything together in
“Thou Art A Villain”. The track once more opens with an abundance of riffs which constantly are modified. It even comes complete with a moderate paced tap riff over the first breakdown which is actually smoothly introduced into the mix. The track progresses into a fairly dramatic final mid-tempo section filled with chant vocals. The vocals persist until the song fades out, marking one of the few successful transitions and completely songs found on the record.
It really is a shame when talent becomes seemingly invisible due to fairly pathetic composition. But when it comes down to it,
The Naturals fails not for what it does but for what it doesn’t do. To translate that a bit, there are so many solid ideas present. Riffs do a nice job of balancing heaviness and melody, the screaming is passionate, and the rhythm section while never really shining is not a total disappointment. However, despite these moderately strong individual aspects, the group is seemingly incapable of putting together complete tracks. Sloppily introduced breakdowns are a huge downfall as they typically ruin the flow of songs and offer nothing interesting in process. With several exceptions, singing is just thrown into the mix and rarely has a positive affect on the song. Even their attempts at being dramatic such as the outro of
“Praise The Nighttime” come up short and boring due to lackluster songwriting. These guys are certainly capable of releasing a solid album as they have talent. However, their sloppy transitioning of ideas is a barrier that needs to be overcome before their potential can be fully utilized.
Final Rating: 2/5
