Review Summary: Potential life changer for some, another mediocre release for others.
Means was a Canadian hardcore band that never achieved much widespread success but found a very small yet devoted following. The sound they crafted was a unique blend of metalcore and hardcore, jam packed full of melody and emotion. "You Will Become" is in my opinion, the bands best song and also happens to be the opener for the bands first EP. Matt Goud's soaring voice is the first thing to grace the listeners ears before the 20 minute journey that is "More Than Watchmen For The Morning."
It may have something to do with the fantastic artwork being so well-fitting for the songs but for whatever reason the album showcases a certain ambience to it. A good listen when things get tough and you just need to close your eyes and escape from the world around you. That is a very bold statement to be said for a band that went nowhere and honestly, started getting worse from each album onward. Regardless, this EP is what I prefer to remember the band by.
It’s no secret that the lyrics are centered around Christianity (best exemplified by the closer “My Everything”) but they are also so much more than that. No matter what you believe, the lyrics posses the ability to give a sense of hope to the listener. The instrumentation present on the album is nothing spectacular, in fact, if I was to hear a straight guitar track from the EP, I would be far from impressed. Somehow once all the instruments get put together along with the incredible clean vocals, something just clicks. The screaming style exhibited from Dylan Johnstone comes off as dry and honestly sounds like his throat is on the verge of ripping open. This will be a major turn off for some listeners but also possibly a major turn on. Dylan appears to be putting his heart and soul into every guttural scream despite the fact that it can’t be the most comfortable thing for him.
Though it only clocks in around twenty minutes “More Than Watchmen For The Morning” showcases not only Means but hardcore at it’s finest. Soulful, emotional, sincere are just a few words that could be used to describe it. “My Everything” does its job well for closing the best chapter of Means history and even features some beautiful acoustic guitar work. Potential life changer for some, another mediocre hardcore release for others, give it a listen and see what you think.
