Review Summary: A good example of competent mainstream metalcore.
landless, a brand new metalcore act hailing from Cadca, Slovakia, delivers a decently executed attempt at creating a good metalcore debut. The band manages to serve spectacularly on the grounds of instrumental proficiency but ultimately fails to separate itself from the rest of a horribly bloated genre. While the guitar work and production values are incredible, the record falls short in a few major areas that make landless' debut EP a good starting point but not much else. The production qualities serve fairly well, giving most of the attention to vocals and guitars while keeping drums towards the back end of the mix. The overall sound of each song provides a fun outing that's great to drive to, with clashing rhythms and vocals that are a great time to sing along to.
The guitar work on Bluemist is definitely the most ear-catching division of the EP. Members Peter and Patrik manage to balance classic metalcore rhythmic chug with a seemingly endless stream of journeying leads that keep each song moving and gripping in the expected metalcore-esque manor. In fact, these quick, constant leads demonstrate not only that each guitarist is proficient at handling their axe, but also that they have excellent taste in determining what is best for the overall atmosphere. A perfect example of this atmospheric prioritization is in the EP's opener, Respire, wherein vocalist Ladislav dances with the lower rhythmic chugs while the lead guitar bounces frantically and melodically. The progression climbs to the track's end, creating a wonderfully exasperating timbre that is very familiar in the genre-- yet it is executed magnificently. Unfortunately, however, while the leads are impressive, the chugging possess little variation. The leads are given much more power in the overall mix, making up for the variation in chugs.
Three major distractions from the EP's wonderful guitar work are in vocalist Ladislav, drummer Daniel, and the fact that there seems to be no bass present in the mix. Ladislav's voice provides nothing fresh or original; instead his yelps are gratingly typical for a metalcore band and at points they take too much attention away from the rest of the mix. The drumming on the record is also, unfortunately, almost entirely copycat to essentially every other competent mainstream metalcore band currently in existence. Finally, the lack of bass results in a very thin mix. The presence of clear bass would contrast beautifully with the awesome melodic leads, creating an atmosphere even Conferge fans would come to enjoy. These three distractions take hard blows to the otherwise solid material.
While mainstream bands like BMTH and Asking Alexandria struggle with their seemingly pubescent identities and lacking songwriting and instrumental proficiency, landless surprasses in melding a consistent sound with exciting guitar work. Again, the drum work and vocals could have easily been stolen right from any other similar record, and there's seemingly no bass, so the record possess strong imperfections. But it's still a great debut for a naive band hailing from a quiet Slovakian town, and at only a little over 18 minutes it's a great record for any metalcore junkie to check out.
