Review Summary: Maybe the band should focus on Capturing some individuality instead of "the Crown".
Australia has a very prominent metal-core scene. Ever since the emergence and subsequent fame of Parkway Drive, countless bands worldwide have spawned. Some of the more mentionable bands would be Northlane, Confession and In Hearts Wake. Storming onto the 'scene' (Pun intended) are Capture the Crown, with a fan-base expanding so rapidly it begs the attention of anyone who wishes to stay aware of what's going on in Australian metal-core. More specifically, their popularity spawning directly from a film clip released for their song "You call that a Knife? This is a Knife!" which is comprised of the band dancing under a running water hose, or thereabouts.
The attention this band has been receiving has nothing to do with their musical ability, or lack thereof . Nearly all of these songs share an almost identical structure, breakdowns, auto tuned pop-core clean choruses and more breakdowns. I almost forgot to mention the occasional transitions into trance to keep the 2-step kids happy. The production is overbearing and overshot, the vocals have more layers than onions, the guitar tone is muddy and rarely leaves the first two strings and the drums sound as though they were created by a machine. You've heard one song, you've heard them all.
Til Death begins with "Arrival", which is 40 seconds of air sirens followed by a breakdown layered with trance, not a bad intro but nothing memorable. And the onslaught against the ears begins. "#OIMATEWTF" is the first actual song on the album and it follows the aforementioned structure. The entire song is composed of chugging / breakdowns and only deviates for an auto-tuned clean chorus and trance outro. The lyrics are incredibly generic, discussing heartbreak and hating a former partner / other half, lines such as "You were my drug!" chanted over and over comes across as juvenile and sick inducing.
The following three songs "Forked Tongue", "Ladies and Gentlemen...." and "LAX" are practically indistinguishable. They bleed together more than all the other songs to form an amalgamation of bad lyrics, auto-tuned / layered vocals and breakdowns. "Ladies and gentlemen" has a 5 second guitar solo which leaves much to be desired. "LAX" is one of the more enjoyable songs on the album as it incorporates a decent amount of melody and a very remotely 'metal' riff. "Storm in a Tea Cup" is essentially a pop song with occasional screaming. A computer generated beat is the backbone to the song and the cleans are blatantly auto-tuned to the point of hilarity. The beat does not change throughout the entire song making it monotonous and boring. Up next is "Help me to Help You" and while it is nothing out of the ordinary, it was at this song that my head began to hurt due to what I have dubbed as, 'stabbed cat' screams. They truly sound like a dying animal.
"RVG" is lyrically the most comedic on the entire album. It's a mash of words about the band being trash talked on the internet and how their lives are so much better than those who critique them. Lines such as "Go back to your bedroom with your goddamn keyboard" and "You say that *** to me and I don't give a ***, say it to my face and I'll end you." are just so stupid they're beyond ridicule. "The Departed 2.0" is actually quite an enjoyable track, it's an acoustic and the lyrics are nowhere near as pathetic as they are on other songs, a nice change, but not enough for any level of musical redemption. You may have noticed some songs I have not mentioned. The reasoning for this is as there is no point, I would merely be repeating myself as they're identical.
The only slightly redeemable quality is the cleans are enjoyable, no doubt overproduced and auto-tuned they can be entertaining. Apart from that, nothing positive can be said. Vocals are weak, drums are unimaginative, guitars are boring, lyrics are of the utmost of horrible and the structure is monotone throughout the entire album.
