Review Summary: Rough Draft Writers FR
The
Novelists Demo is a collection of six songs recorded by progcore band Novelists FR between 2013 and 2014. Two tracks from this demo,
Antares and
Souvenirs, would end up on the main tracklist of their debut album
Souvenirs; and two others,
Twenty Years and
Heartfelt, would end up as bonus tracks. The last two unmentioned,
Delusion and
Immedicable, would end up as non-album singles that wouldn't make it onto
Souvenirs in any way.
These six tracks, which are most likely the first ones written with Novelists' original lineup, are arguably their heaviest to date. Novelists is known for their glossy production, and despite these tracks just being demos, I can tell that time was spent into making the instrumentals and vocals sound rich in quality. The two tracks that were remastered for
Souvenirs (the title-track and
Antares) still sound very close to their original versions, but were cleaned up around the edges to assimilate well with the rest of the album. However, their demo versions, which do have a slight bit roughness to them in regards to the mixing in some parts, also fit well with the other tracks on the demo that share the same minor flaws.
I imagine that most people who read this review will be familiar with Novelists already, but to quickly sum up their sound (during their
Souvenirs era, at least), they are a progressive metalcore band that favors technical and melodic riffs, harsh vocals on verses, and soaring, cleanly-sung choruses. They started out quite heavy with their
Souvenirs album and especially the tracks on this demo, but began to mellow out more as time progressed. For fans of this band who favor their heavier stuff, I'd recommend listening to the
Novelists Demo not as a demo, but as the band's first EP. The consistency of quality is here, and since the band will likely never sound like this again (unless Matteo returns to the band and they drop the electronic stuff they are currently doing), this demo can serve as one additional shot of Novelist Espresso.
