Being a large fan of most Metalcore bands, I see the strong points in this album quite clearly. As generic as people may call it, As I La – pardon me, Destroy the Runner’s debut album ‘Saints’ ends up being a relatively good listen by the last note of yet another Metalcore melody in the ending seconds.
Right off the bat, you can already tell that this band is HEAVILY, (meaning a couple thousand tons) influenced by one of the largest bands in Metalcore, and one of my personal favorites, As I Lay Dying. You should be familiar with the terms Metalcore Riff and Breakdown if you are a Metalcore listener, and this album is packed full of both.
Most of the guitars are either simple, impressive, or both for the majority of the album, as in songs such as “From the Red” or “The Aleph”. You also won’t have to very hard to hear the double bass at parts. The one thing that isn’t always noticeable is the bass guitar. Its there, but prepare to strain your ears. But it’s the band’s first attempt to make an album, and this is a common mistake that can be looked over easily, and doesn’t take too much away from the music, unless you absolutely hate hearing the treble favored.
As for the vocals, you get decipherable screams, of course. But good screams? Yes. | Unique? Sometimes; this happens to be the large problem with this band. No, not the vocals, the generic-ness, and quite a bit of repetitiveness. Examples being the fact that there are a bunch of songs that all end in fade-out breakdowns, that end up sounding quite similar. Very similar. Back to the screaming: He defiantly does not outdo Tim Lambesis, but it really depends. Some people find Tim Lambesis’ vocals annoying or strange. In the case of Destroy the Runner, his scream is easier to listen to for some people.
As in most Metalcore, there are usually screamed verses, and sweetly-sung choruses. Considering this band is extremely generic, they do just that for about 90% of the album. It’s a good thing they know how to pull it off properly, otherwise, this album wouldn’t be half as good as it is. The clean vocals are usually catchy, and fun to listen to for the most part. His voice is “higher”, but not that of an Underoath or Funeral for a Friend Post-Hardcore style vocals, to be stereotypical.
Typically, the album has quite a few down points. I already mentioned the generic ness and repetitiveness, but another weak thing about the album is that you will find yourself mainly listening to the first half of the album, (ending with “From the Red”). So the album starts off quite strong with “My Darkness”, and keeps it up with “Columbia”, “Saints” (being my least favorite of the first half), “The Aleph”, “Thoughts in Reverse”, and “From the Red”. After this point, you lose interest in most of the other tracks. So as for album structure, they might have wanted to spread out the ‘multiple-listens’ tracks a bit more, so you actually listen to the others, and get a better experience from the album.
Lyrical wise, this band keeps it clean in the language way, so no parental-advisory there. They end up being very-uplifting at points. But as some points, just plain and considerably average.
As for the emotion on the album, again, quite uplifting. At other points, it can be somewhat angry, as shown on “Thoughts in Reverse”. Other than that, its what you would expect from Metalcore.
Pros:
-Catchy
-Good melodies
-Good instrumentation.
Cons:
-REALLY generic
-Why not just name the band As I Lay Dying?
-Repetitive
At the end of the album, its worth the time to listen to, and some songs will, guaranteed, be stuck in your head. Although it does not do its fellow band As I Lay Dying, I didn’t much expect it to. It’s quite a good listen, and defiantly worth some downloads. Thanks for reading
Recommended Songs:
My Darkness
Columbia
The Aleph
Thoughts in Reverse
From the Red
-The Sun Sleeps.
