Review Summary: If you can look past some of the generic elements, you may be surprised what you find.
Like most people who've heard of Issues, I was a big fan Woe Is Me's Number[s] album. The whole thing was nicely layered with keyboards, Tyler Carter's clean vocals, and some surprisingly unique tapping sections from lead guitarist Tim Sherrill. So when I heard that Tyler Carter, harsh vocalist Michael Bohn, bassist Cory Ferris, and keyboardist Ben Ferris, 4/7ths of the team behind Number[s] were starting a new band, I was naturally excited. If you're going into Black Diamonds expecting something on par with Number[s], you'll be disappointed, but only slightly.
Aside from the title track, a generic, metalcore, wubfest, which like most generic, metalcore, wubfests, that is shockingly disappointing, the rest of the album is extremely similar. Most tracks follow a breakdown, clean chorus, R&B interlude formula. King of Amarillo and Princeton Ave. both have Carter doing R&B interludes, while Her Monologue actually has a two minute rap portion with Tyler Carter and a female rapper. The biggest fault with Black Diamonds is guitarist A.J. Rebollo. Rebollo is the only guitarist in the band, not a very talented guitarist at that, so most of the songs are written in the same key, and as a result the whole album lacks diversity. Like most releases within the genre, the whole album has a distinct lack of bass, but the production on this album has other flaws. Bohn's screams seem really unmixed, and while Carter's vocals a sometimes nicely mixed, many times they're overproduced and tacky such as the chorus on Love.Sex.Riot.
But it's not all bad news. As I expected the true strength of the EP would be in Tyler Carter and Michael Bohn's performances. Carter may be a less talented version of Jonny Craig but the kid can write some catchy hooks. The Worst of Them is proof of this, the chorus is damn catchy, Rihanna na-na-nas included. Carter and Bohn are also firing on all cylinders lyrically, aside from the awful diss track King of Amarillo. In Princeton Ave. Bohn screams "Cease production of this destructive breed, seek help because your pride only makes you weak" about his father, and how abuse perpetuates abuse. Carter sings "I'm man enough to see, there ain't a god damn man in me." Moving on to Her Monologue, Bohn screams "I bet you fall asleep, get tangled in your sheets, and suffocate as you choke at the thought of your own dreams" and Carter goes on to sing "You're killing yourself with you lucid dreaming"
Is this EP better than the Asking Alexandrias/Of Mice and Men/Attack Attacks of the genre? Yes, but not by a lot. Though there are flaws with the album, mostly due to the lack of diversity, the vocalists make the EP enjoyable and do enough to set it apart from the rest of the Genre
3/5
Recommended tracks
The Worst of Them
Princeton Ave.
