Review Summary: Michigan's SycAmour has risen from the local scene and is ready to take on the world.
SycAmour is one of Hopeless Records newest additions and is now looking to make it on a national level. They play a blend of metalcore, post hardcore and pop music. The band has been gaining popularity in the metro Detroit area for the past few years and is now all inked up. They released Obscure in 2012 on their own accord but have now released an updated version called Obscure: La Deuxieme. The difference being La Deuxieme has a new song called “Renaissance” and a cover of Adele’s “Set Fire To The Rain”. So how does the band’s first release on their new record label stack up? Let’s find out.
SycAmour is a 5 piece metalcore band hailing from Detroit, Michigan. The band includes Jeremy Gilmore (vocals), Tony Sugent (vocals), Zack Ferrell (guitar), Charlie McCormick (bass) and Victor Yousof (drums). The band does use a second guitar player live but he is not listed on the band’s Facebook page. Jeremy and Tony split vocal duties with Jeremy singing mostly clean vocals while Tony handles the heavier screams. Jeremy’s vocals shine all throughout the album and in my opinion is the highlight of the EP. He belts out the lines “You take me! / Untangled!” in the opening track “Bathsheba” to near perfection. Not only can Jeremy belt out choruses but he also does a great job softly singing verses especially on “Rose-Tinted (Bloodshot)”. Jeremy also shows a bit of versatility as a vocalist displaying some screams in “Crassinova”. While Jeremy isn’t quite the screamer Tony is, but it’s a nice addition to the song to hear a different voice. Tony and Jeremy share a great dynamic and chemistry throughout the album. Often Jeremy’s cleans will build into Tony’s screams which can pack quite the punch when executed correctly. Unfortunately for SycAmour these heavy sections can feel forced. Sometimes a great catchy song is interrupted for Tony to scream and a breakdown to kick off. This is most obvious in “Renaissance” when a solid alternative/pop rock song takes a turn for the worst to implement Tony’s vocals and a breakdown. While the heavy section itself sounds good it just feels out of place. The guitar playing on the album is stereotypical to that of most metalcore bands but does have its moments, especially on the song “Rain”, where Zack lays down a great guitar solo towards the end. The guitar playing is decent throughout but there are too many uninspired, generic breakdowns with your typical open note chugging found in the genre. The bass isn’t very loud in the mix and often doesn’t stray off from the guitar parts, but Charlie brings a nice low end to the band. Nothing is too flashy about the drumming here but Victor does a good job being the backbone of the band. Victor plays the drums tastefully throughout and doesn’t fall into the trap of over using double bass like a lot of drummers in the genre do. The drums can serve as the driving force of a breakdown and then mellow down and just groove, which serves the music effectively.
With Obscure La Deuxieme the band has an overall impressive collection of songs and ideas but some ideas just don’t sit with me as well as others. For example on “Nooses (On The Looses)” SycAmour has a guest rapper (whose name I couldn’t find) come in and rap a verse. I don’t know if the band wanted a “Nu Metal” vibe to the song but I wasn’t feeling it…at all. There also is a very brief part in “Chloroform” where Jeremy’s singing is auto-tuned for a few lines. While very brief, I don’t understand why the band felt the need to auto-tune Jeremy’s singing, especially when it is so good on the rest of the album. There is also the occasional use of electronics throughout the album which felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the music. While all these ideas where attempts at adding diversity to the album they felt corny and didn’t help the music. The music though on this album is pretty solid itself despite these downfalls. “Rain”, “Rose-Tinted (Bloodshot)”, and “Get With The Times, New Roman!” are all highlight tracks. “Get With The Times, New Roman!” is one of the heavier tracks on the album and is a great example of how SycAmour can kick it into another gear and show a heavier sound. “Rain” is possibly the best song on the record. It has a very poppy vibe to it and could be enjoyable for people who typically listen to pop, rock or alternative. Both Jeremy’s vocals and Zack’s guitar solo shine on this track. “Rose-Tinted (Bloodshot)” captures the heavier and softer side of SycAmour perfectly and blends them into one solid song. Most the album I found to be enjoyable but, “Set Fire To The Rain” by Adele was a poor cover of an already poor song. Despite their best efforts SycAmour couldn’t bring anything new and exciting to the song. I’ve never been a fan of the whole “Pop Goes Punk” thing and that is essentially what this is. The song doesn’t make you want to sing along or head bang, it’s simply just there.
Overall, SycAmour released a solid EP but falls trap to genre stereotypes. If you are a fan of metalcore/post hardcore bands like We Came As Romans, A Day To Remember, and Bring Me The Horizon, give this one a spin. But if your favorite band is Cannibal Corpse and you’re looking for something “brutal” you may want to look elsewhere.
