The "-core" suffix is one that's being thrown around a lot these days. Hardcore, emocore, grindcore, mallcore, fashioncore, even gaycore (seriously); the most prevalent of all the -cores, though, is far and away metalcore. Originating from the fusion of hardcore and metal by the likes of
Converge in the nineties, metalcore has become something of a phenomenon. Led into the mainstream by bands like
Atreyu and
Trivium, the genre has swept the country. It seems like there's a new metalcore band popping up around every corner, most of them merely imitating greater bands while offering nothing new or unique. Like with the nu-metal craze of yesteryear, countless "flavor of the month" bands are appearing, selling loads of records, then falling flat on their face with their followup and fading into obscurity.
Bleeding Through scored a huge hit in
This is Love, This is Murderous, earning thousands upon thousands of angsty teenage fans who could relate to the tales of lost love and the excess of black clothing and makeup. The expectations, then, are understandably high for
The Truth. Is it as good as their previous efforts? What's up with the new chick on keyboards? Will they ever wear anything that's not black?
Bleeding Through is:
Vocals: Brandan Schieppati
Keyboards: Marta
Guitar: Scott Danough
Guitar: Brian Leppke
Drums: Derek Youngsma
Bass: Ryan Wombacher
For Love and Failing. Well, Mostly Failing...
Most typical metalcore albums, for whatever reason, begin with a short instrumental track.
Bleeding Through will have none of this, though, with
The Truth beginning with heaviness, intensity, and the poetic grace of a lobotomized antelope. As the first track,
For Love and Failing, begins, we hear Brandan belt out "I don't give a f*ck!" Not exactly a promising start. The track continues at this pace, with Brandan shouting his gutteral, hardcore vocals at the exact same pitch and some simple riffs playing behind him. The keyboards add a nice touch, but really don't help the song out much overall. The chorus is exactly what you'd expect from metalcore, but surprisingly good. Brandan's vocal delivery works really well, in spite of the generic lyrics ("I know, I'm still counting scars from everytime you cried. And I remember the first time you died. Tonight i want to bleed along with you. Here's to craving everything you do."), his singing is slightly whiny but doesn't reach the point of being annoying. He throws in some shouts for emphasis, which helps to make the chorus disturbingly catchy. Completely unremarkable verses and playing aside, this is still one of the strongest songs on the album, mostly because of the way-too-catchy chorus.
Following suit,
Confession sounds very, very similar to the previous track, albeit ever-so-slightly slower and minus the clean singing in the chorus. The playing is still simple, the keyboard being the only thing that stands out at all as being unique. Brandan shouts with the same tone through the whole song. It's almost painful to listen to, but thankfully is over in less than three minutes.
Love in Slow Motion fares slightly better; Brandan actually shows a little variation, going from his normal angry shout to a higher-pitched scream, and some clean singing thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the singing just isn't very good. Whiny and off-key, which is a shame considering he actually has a good voice at times. Instrumentation is completely unremarkable, just like with the other tracks. The riffs are uninspired, the drums are good enough, and the bass is hardly heard. Slightly above average, but it starts to drag during the breakdown about halfway through.
The Painkiller retains the tradition of same-sounding riffs and extremely boring, shouted vocals. The song finished playing less than a minute ago and I'm already having trouble recalling anything about it. It's that forgettable. Filler material. Following is another forgettable track in the form of
Kill to Believe. It goes back to the tried-and-true formula of generic riffs, shouted verses, and a sung chorus. Brandan's singing is extremely uneven, and the lyrics in the chorus sound like they were written by a mentally-handicapped eighth-grader ("Do you remember the night that I couldn't find the words to say I'm sorry?").
Dearly Demented comes next, offering the same crap that's been presented so far, but with notably horrible singing in the chorus. Another skippable track, which leads into, thank God, a really good song.
Line in the Sand is the ballad of
The Truth, and coincidentally the best song to be found here. The guitars are still relatively simple, but they actually sound good. And there's a solo, which is a really unexpected (and pleasant) surprise after hearing the repetetive drivel that passed for playing on the rest of the album. Brandan sings through the whole song, and his voice actually works really well. Rather than sounding cheesy and annoying, the keyboard adds a cool, dark overtone to the song. Lyrics are nothing special, par for the course really, it's the delivery of them that carries the song.
She's Gone gets back to the heavy, generic side of the band. From the opening notes, it's another yawn-inducing trip through the same tired formula that doesn't let up until the final track. The songs start to blend together, the same dull riffs and boring shouting coupled with the occasional whiny singing. To quote
Hollywood Prison, "What can I say that hasn't been said before?" It's the exact same mindless drivel that's been played earlier in the album, and by this point it's as fun to listen to as a kitten being thrown in a blender. Which, for the record, is only mildly entertaining.
The Truth has one final hurrah in the form of the closing title track.
The Truth is a nice, atmospheric instrumental that serves to remind us all that the band can play their instruments competently when they want to. It's still not amazing, and really sounds like it should just be a part of something bigger instead of an entity unto itself, but it's a good way to end the album regardless.
The Truth About The Truth...
Overall,
The Truth is just a bad album. I'll admit to never having heard
Bleeding Through's older material, but if it's anything like this I have to wonder why they're so popular. There is nothing unique here, it's completely standard, run of the mill metalcore. I really can't see how this would appeal to anyone; those looking for musical integrity in their metalcore would be better suited with a band like
Trivium, while Atreyu and countless other bands are better suited to those looking for a catchy chorus and nothing more. There are a couple good moments, but not nearly enough to justify a purchase.
1.5/5
Download if you Must:
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For Love and Failing
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Line in the Sand
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The Truth
