Review Summary: A promising ep that slightly falls short.
Every now and then you hear a young band with such promise but they somehow slightly miss the mark, well Materials is that band.
The Northern is the debut ep of the Sydney based Metalcore band Materials, they mix a Djenty, Moshy sound with a clean We Came As Romans sound.
Melody is most prevelant in the opening track Sleepless, clean guitars, angelic clean vocals and a guest vocalist appearance makes this track an enjoyable one, musically its tight, dynamic and very well put together, the production is excellent, Steven Faulls appearance is what makes this track a fun song to listen to.
Lost, Found, and Homebound is track two, it brings some interesting sounds to the table, Heavy bends in riffs (something i love), Breakdowns, and yet again a brilliant guest vocalist in Daniel Soria, where it falls short is the layered vocals, blast beats (they just didn't fit the song and it made it sound clunky) and the song was just sorta boring.
Moth brought some savagery into the mix which made this track my favourite, they kinda had the right idea with this track, its pissed off, heavy, and im sure it will be a crowd pleaser live.
Musically speaking these guys are solid, the guitar work though simple does the job in conveying the ep, the drums are somewhat hollow sounding and a little overbearing in the mix and the blast beats made them somewhat disappointing to listen to, the bass like most Metalcore bands isnt there and when it is it's just to carry a bend or breakdown.
I leave this final part to talk about the vocals, they are layered to the point i doubt he will be able to achieve them live, where as the guest vocalists parts are excellent, the bands lead vocalist is quite boring and generic.
All in all this band could of been brilliant but they made a couple mistakes which made the ep somewhat dull, im excited to hear more from them and see what they do in the future.
