Review Summary: The beginning of something great
Nowadays, metalcore is an unbelievably saturated genre in the music industry. The list of bands is endless, and it seems nearly impossible to establish yourself as a newcomer in the scene. How does one even attempt to make even just a tiny ripple in the massive lake of this music? Well, I guess a good strategy is to kickstart your career’s discography with an outstanding debut.
Eastshade is a metalcore band hailing from Cologne, Germany formed in 2019. With their debut EP,
When Colors Fade shows the group building their resume, crafting their own style and establishing a foundation for Eastshade to progress. Mixing aggressive, technical riffing with ambient, atmospheric composition, the group doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel of metalcore, but they sure do nail the sound.
Taking influence from groups like Silent Planet and Polaris, Eastshade blurs the lines between melody and intensity with their songwriting. With
When Colors Fade, the group heavily relies on techy guitar riffs, powerful bass grooves, and catchy drum chops. “Waking Hours” and “Bleeding Waters” emphasize dissonant chugs and choruses full of melodic, yet heavy chord progressions that combine beauty with distortion. “Like Shattering Diamonds” and “Aquamarine” venture in the realm of technical and complex composition, crafting riffs and breakdowns that display Eastshade’s immense potential. Throughout the effort, atmospheric, almost dreamy harmonies seep through the aggression, providing a refined, crisp sound to
When Colors Fade. In “Sayonara” and “Anchors,” clean guitarwork and delayed, reverb-laden leads add a new and fresh element of melody to their metalcore sound. Whether accentuating the aggression or stripping it down to the melodic composition, Eastshade straddles the line between the two contrasts almost perfectly.
Perhaps the most prominent element of their music lies in the vocals. With a dual vocal performance, the balance of cleans and screams furthers the blurred line between aggression and melody. Although neither style is intensely diverse,
When Colors Fade is full to the brim with well composed vocal phrasing and rather unique melodic choices. The screams set up some intense moments of the EP, leading into heavy breakdowns and exploding into choruses. Despite the cleans still requiring some tune up, the vocals still provide a fantastic melodic sense to the project and amplifies the choruses with beautiful harmonies. However, when both the screams and cleans work together in tracks like “Waking Hours,” they play off each other perfectly, displaying the potential they have for their future discography.
Although this is only just a debut EP, Eastshade has already started off their career with a bang. With their style of metalcore riffing and atmospheric ambience, the group builds upon what’s been established and showcases their immense potential to be known forces in the genre.
When Colors Fade isn’t just a debut, it’s a powerful statement for the beginning of a band’s career.
