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Review Summary: More Underoath than Underoath Stories EP Void was not a good piece of music; it was the epitome of djent-metalcore genericism with almost no substance and nothing to set the band apart from the seemingly endless list of Volumes clones clogging up the metalcore scene. Fast forward to 2015 and things are, thankfully, very different.
First things first; The Youth to Become sounds like Underoath, a lot, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; over the years quite a number of post-hardcore bands have taken bits and pieces from Underoath’s formula, and Stories, despite borrowing quite heavily, may just be the best band to have done this. There’s a real sense of passion within the vocal performance; the predominantly harsh vocals utilise studio space incredibly well, moving about the song at the appropriate pace and rarely, if ever, getting tired or worn out. While used sparingly the clean vocals also add a great element to the album; forget over-produced auto-cleans or high-pitched wailing, the clean vocals present here are restrained and organic, seeming more like a natural extension of one’s voice in place of a need to create immediately contrasting choruses or sing-a-long car ride moments.
Restraint really is the keyword in describing The Youth to Become, not unlike Hopesfall’s The Satellite Years, this band knows that a song can have just as great of an impact with a slowly moving instrumental section as it can with an excessively heavy beat down. This understanding of song structure and the move towards a more cautious and minimalist approach is definitely the highlight of Stories transition from EP to album; at no point does it feel as though the band has run out of ideas and just thrown in a bunch of breakdowns to pad out the record length, every note found here has a purpose and because of that the album functions incredibly well as a complete artistic piece. It doesn't hurt that the album has been immaculately produced, at times it's grimy but not indecipherable or polished but not the point of excess, the producers have managed to strike a perfect balance between studio sheen and an earthy, grounded texture.
It can’t be stressed enough just how much of a move forward Stories have made in this instance; these are the kinds of progression one might expect by a band’s second or third album, not their debut. The combination of spaced out ambience with relatively heavy post-hardcore isn’t an entirely original concept but outside of genre staples like Underoath you’re going to be hard pressed to find a band that does it this well. The Youth to Become is a great album, it never wears out its welcome and leaves the band with an excellent jumping off point to progress and transition forward, these kind of moments don’t come along often but when they do it’s good and in this case it’s damn good.
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Album Rating: 4.0
Album can be streamed via soundcloud
http://www.impericon-mag.com/en/bands-you-probably-missed-stories-are-streaming-debut-the-youth-to-become/
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Tight review.
Honestly I thought this would suck, as I dug their Void EP and changing styles is rarely a seamless transition.
Surprised at how enjoyable this is though, they've really nailed the style.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I didn't know what to think going into it, I didn't like Void obviously, but a quick glance at the UNFD label generally suggests there's not an overwhelming number of good bands putting stuff out in their camp, which is why this was such a surprise.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"Stories EP Void was not a good piece of music, it was the epitome of djent-metalcore genericism with almost no substance and nothing to set the band apart from the seemingly endless list of Volumes clones clogging up the metalcore scene, fast forward to 2015 and things are, thankfully, very different."
This is all one sentence and could easily be split up. I would recommend cutting after "piece of music" for the first sentence, and then maybe cutting it again between "metalcore scene" and "fast forward to 2015"
try putting album/EP titles in italics, it looks better and it's the regular protocol around here
"getting tried or worn out"
tired*
"seemingly more like a natural extension of one’s voice"
i think you meant "seeming" not "seemingly"
solid review tho. I think I heard this bands EP a good while back and liked it. The single for this was interesting too so I'm gonna give it a listen sometime.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Dig this review, as it highlights pretty much every thought I have towards this album. It is hard hitting, passionate, and rarely dull. Also, quite the progression from their EP. Pos'd.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Three songs in, this is my kind of shit right here. Anything that sounds like Define The Great Line is an instant win in my book. I like my fair share of chuggy generic metalcore, but bands that utilize this sound usually end up blowing me away.
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I like me some Underoath, will check this.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Man, I'm getting some serious flashbacks to Define the Great Line here.
Everything from the production, music, vocals, etc to even certain lyrics that Spencer would be screaming.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
It's really nice to be surprised by new music like this. I very vaguely remember listening to their EP and being unimpressed with it. I was paying no attention to this release. Then I saw the stream and figured why not. Ten album spins later I'm thinking this will end up being one of my favorite releases of the year.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
EP might as well be a different band, sounded like something you'd get on a Sumerian sampler.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
so damn perfect. Alone In The Fallout is amazing and Under Haze is a jam.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I cant hate on Void, i thought it was actually pretty legit for a 1st EP.
Youth to Become though is jaw dropping, glad they went the post-hardcore route, you can hear in the first EP the ambient guitars were wanting to go for an Under0ath route. This new album is killing it though.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
This sounds a LOT like Define the Great Line. Fucking awesome! Thanks man. I didn't read the review I checked it out on Google Play and I was like "Am I the only one who thinks they sound like Underoath?" and sure enough you did!
Thanks for the review gonna go buy this now!
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I think I like this more than Disambiguation, which is my favourite Underoath album... Pretty funny how Stories does Underoath better
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Great review. I almost agree wholeheartedly, as I thought Void was pretty decent. These guys rip it live. I really dig the change in style, and although it does come off as being pretty damn Underoath-y -- they are owning this sound.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I like this a lot more than every Underoath album actually, excluding Disambiguation. The production/mixing on this is beyond amazing.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I just don't like Underoath, I think Spencer was really annoying in Define. For some reason I just don't get that album, while everyone praises it, though I love Disambiguation and kinda like Lost. It's pretty wierd
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Yeah I love this album, It must be so wierd for Underoath hearing this, they don't really need to get together and make a new album if Stories keeps going in this direction.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
It's funny how all the reviews by djentforums don't seem to recognize the Underoath influence...
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
that's what I love about this album, the uncleans are freakin amazing and the cleans really sound like Aaron's (melodywise). It's like a heavier Underoath IMO
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