Review Summary: The blooming of potential from the lackluster roots of deathcore.
I won't rehash what has already been said countless times-Deathcore is, generally, dime a dozen. To an extent, this can be understandable. Hardcore is a simple style of music driven by passion, while death metal usually focuses more on musical talent. However, if "Neverbloom" proves anything, it's that their is a way to intertwine the both together in a seemingly near-perfect fashion.
The album contains strong blasting riffs, which although breakdown laden, are otherwise inherently catchy and actually suit the vocalist incredibly well. They are bludgeoning when paired with vicious screams and brutal gutturals of Make Them Suffers vocalist. He simply has such an intense level of passion and energy, like he pours his heart and soul into the music. The best example of this is on the title track "Neverbloom" and "Ellegies", which is arguably the catchiest song on the album, and perhaps the most heartfelt. "and for those nights we wept for the moon, I would have died for the spring." This is the first verse of "Ellegies". Both beautiful and angry, it sums the whole together amazingly well.
Speaking of which, that is what makes this album so unique. It's tinged with just a faint amount of melody with truly gorgeous piano pieces. It makes for a perfect balance, and eases the constant shrieks and blasting beats. In addition, occasional female cleans are used, notably the aforementioned "Neverbloom", where she has a really soothing style of singing. It is mixed oddly well with the screams, never exactly invalidating the power or heaviness of the harsh vocals. It's used sparingly enough that it adds to the album without becoming a focal point. That's not to say her singing isn't beautiful, but I think it can be said much more power lies in the heartfelt screams instead.
As much of a step in the right direction as I think this album is, it's still tethered and restrained just slightly by its roots. Outside of the two tracks I mentioned (and maybe "Weeping Wastelands"), the music is still played pretty safely within its box. There are still an over abundance of chugging riffs and breakdowns, and although they are balanced well with the the symphony from the piano, it still becomes slightly annoying after you realize every track has these same patterns. It's not to say the guitar work doesn't demonstrate real talent- during more melodic parts it shows it's ability to create truly tranquil riffs that emphasize the beauty this album portrays.
The only thing I haven't really talked much about is the drums. There actually isn't much to say. They are powerful but not overbearing, just doing a great job of emphasizing the frantic moments particularly. They are produced extremely well, which makes them crisp and every note pleasing but not making them an overly dominant force on the album.
Overall, this album is adding some spice to a rather insipid style of music. Both thrashing and peaceful, fabricating a perfect harmony through a myriad of blasting riffs, passionate despair-ridden shrieks, brutal chugs, all mixed with sweet graceful piano parts, this makes for a truly heartfelt Deathcore album. However ambitious, the slight over saturation of generic riffs and patterns each song follows put a mild damper on the album. Thankfully this isn't so much of a major burden as a small bump in the bands pathway, one i'm sure they are capable of taking head on to create genre breaking records in the future.
