Review Summary: Bland Zao copy.
2 of 10 thought this review was well writtenBefore they ever found an original sound they completely copied Zao. They didn't steal any riffs they still sounded like Zao too much. This album is filled with riffs that could have easily been on Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest. There influence is tattered on their sleeves for all to see. Nothing here is at all like what they do now, or even on Frail Words Collapse.
Most of the melody and soaring harmonized guitar riffs are not here. Here we have dissonant cold melodies, some chugging and even noisy chords here and there. It seems like they were following a simple formula. Heavy intro then dissonant melody and play a variation of the riffs. Then fill some chugging in a few places. The drumming is pretty solid. Maybe the best thing about the whole album. While Jordan isn't as good as he is on other releases, he still brings interesting fills. But it cant save this album. Half way threw and you can already see that it's formulaic, and bland. Behind Me Lies Another Fallen is when you see that some riffs get repeated for far too long. Its starts off with a slow clean guitar intro that repeats for almost a minute, and the clean guitar is pretty boring it self. It gets heavier at the end with octave chords, but it fails to be interesting.
The bass is strangely the most audible in this album for AILD. There are a few moments that lead to some bass actually getting some attention and doing something. But for the most part it does what bass needs to do. Nothing special here. The vocals are another thing that makes this album a Zao copy. Tim sounds nothing like he does now. He sounds like he is trying to copy Dan Weyandt, but he at least manages to do it good. While he does not sound as brutal and passionate as Dan, Tim does good.
Beneath the Encasing of Ashes is nothing new or special. But it manages to stay above generic metalcore. It has an old school metalcore sound to it. Since they do nothing to separate them selves from Zao or do anything really interesting its pointless to give this a listen. But if you really like this band this may be a fun listen, and see where they came from. I did enjoy listening to Tim's vocals since he sounds so much like Dan. Some of the riffs are catchy but not much here to grab you. They fail to sound different and give you something new to listen to.
