Review Summary: Deathcore done right
Deathcore. It’s a word most people despise, writing it off as a useless and boring genre of music, yet a lot of new bands are Deathcore. I think that the problem with the genre is that, for unexplainable reasons, the worst bands of the genre get all the attention and the best are left to obscurity. While Suicide Silence and Winds of Plague hog the Deathcore limelight, many bands who are trying to do the genre in a new and interesting way are given no attention. Some examples of these bands are Those Who Lie Beneath, Here Comes the Kraken, and the subject of this review, Hester Prynne.
Hester Prynne is a relatively new band from Kansas, and this is there first album. And in my opinion, First albums don’t get much better than this. It may not be absolutely perfect, but it shows that A) this is a band that is willing to step out of a lot of Deathcore stereotypes and create something interesting within the genre and B) they can write songs that sound different from each other, a huge problem within the genre. I think a big reason for both these points is that there are not a ton of breakdowns, on this album. Don’t get me wrong, they are their, so if breakdowns automatically turn you off a band then stop reading this and go find another band. But they use breakdowns as an advantage to increase the dynamics of a song, vary the song writing, and make the songs sound heavier. All in all, if you where gonna pick a Deathcore band to listen too, this should be high on your list.
Now let’s talk instruments. Now, this is a metal album, so he bass is not very dominant. It’s there, you can hear it sometimes, but for the most part is just follows the guitars and adds low end. However, following the guitars is no easy task, because these guitarists are excellent. In a genre popularized by guitar players who can only play 4 note chugs, these guys have some excellent riffs and ideas that go into every song. Just some awesome guitar playing, if you are a musicianship fan, they may not be as fast of technical as Brain Drill or Terror horse, but they do play some excellent things on this album. The drummer is not the greatest ever, but he is quite proficient, and gets the job done.
One thing I’ve noticed a lot of people have a problem with is the vocalist. This is something I am still struggling to figure out. He does sound like you’re typical Deathcore vocalist in the vein of Suicide Silence and Job for A Cowboy, but I always thought the vocalist was the highlight of those bands. He has a very powerful voice, and if you listen to the beginning of “All Roads Lead to Hell” the call out “BREAK YOUR ***ING NECK!” is just awesome. However, I will admit that the lyrics are nothing new, some parts made me laugh how over the top and pissed of they are, and some of the lyrics are pretty cool (“A thousand dollar ring doesn't make a whore a queen” and “the thought of love is like a bullet, better of in you’re head”), but if you’re looking for profound lyrics with multiple meanings and metaphors like tool or the red chord, you probably aren’t going to be a fan.
Now, I’ve spent the majority of this review raving about how awesome this album is, but it is not without its flaws. I HATE how the album starts. A lot of Deathcore albums start of with a song that is basically a really long breakdown, and I think it is the stupidest ***ing thing. To me, it just undermines the album and gets it off to a wrong start. The rest of this album is awesome though, and doesn’t really suffer because of it, but I digress. Some of the breakdowns are a little on the cheesy side, so that kind of demeans the album for me. Also, some things I like but others will not, the vocals are not for everyone, the lyrics are pretty cheesy, and there are breakdowns.
All in all, this is a great debut that shows a lot of promise for this band. As much as they break a lot of Deathcore stereotypes, they still have some of them which I think will change as they get further into their career. But this is definitely a band to watch, and I’m wishing great things for them. Overall I’m gonna give this a 3.5, simply because it’s incredibly promising (and awesome), but not quite amazing.
