Review Summary: Promising, if not a bit derivative; blackened screamo done well.
We live in a world where subcultures are more in the forefront than ever before; just take a look around at how many twenty-somethings are wearing turnstile hoodies or deafheaven longsleeves and you'll know exactly what I mean. As a result of this, more and more bands are either popping up to capitalize on these trends and are being discovered at a higher rate than we've seen in previous years. While not fully fitting into this mold, Atlanta, Ga's Low Before the Breeze have managed to take aspects of the surge in black-gaze and combine it with the likes of screamo, hardcore, and death metal - many of which are having their day in the sun as well.
Over the course of this three song EP we see the band dabbling in reverb heavy tremolo picked passages, chug heavy breakdowns, angular riffage, and a healthy dose death metal influenced drumming. Standout track, A Broken Jaw From Singing Your Praises, leans the heaviest and wears its influences proudly on its shoulder; recalling acts such as Wiegedood early on and We Are The Romans era Botch at the tail. Opener, The Book of Nora, flirts with melody in a way that the rest of the extended play do not and sets itself apart as a result.
Overall, Various Raptures is a promising, if not derivative listen that will appeal to genre fans. There are elements that hint at something greater to come in the future but we will have to wait until more material is available from the band to make that judgement.
