Review Summary: Pop-Punk but brootal.
You can’t fool me. You may try but I know what you are deep down inside. You are a Pop-Punk band. The double bass, chunky riffs, dueling guitars and unclean vocals are just your way of trying to fit in. I know because I was the same in 2005. All I wanted to do was fit in. I would listen to Opeth with my mates but go home and spin myself some Good Charlotte. I was a poser, maybe still am. Who knows what is real, all that I know is, ‘A Heartbeat Behind’ is a fun and surprisingly diverse record, that needs some revaluation.
The Hurt Process were one of the many early 2000’s post-hardcore/metalcore bands that reeked of Victory Records and came and went quickly. Two albums, couple EPS, a Warped Tour and then CYA LATER. Hailing from Sunny England, the tanned boys love to throw everything that we would now consider cliché at us. Dual vocals shine through in the form of Unclean and Clean vocals. Lead Vocalist Daniel Lawrence handles the Uncleans and the incredibly Pop/Punk sounding high pitched cleans. His uncleans can be damn brutal but his cleans are almost New Found Glory level of Pop Punky but god damn it, I do love it. Guitarist and second vocalist Tom VALENTINE-DIAMOND, apart from having a glorious name, his vocals are usually used for harmonies and to add a bit of depth into choruses. He does take the lead on the chorus of ‘My Scandinavian Ride’ and he sounds much more pleasant, for those who do not like the high-pitched acquired taste vocals of Daniel.
Opener ‘Anchor’ is everything the band wants you to believe they are. Opening with a breakdown into a dueling guitar solo followed by BROOTAL screams and harmonized cleans, we are here peeps. The 2005 post-hardcore scene 101 playbook is in full force. Double bass and Big Chunky Boi riffs are scattered throughout the album ‘My Scandinavian Ride’, ‘Delicious 53’ and ‘Anchor’ being the closest they get to touching Metalcore. ‘A Mind With Two Faces’ was the first song that I took note of, and it made me realize what kind of band I was listening to. A nice pleasant, plucked guitar riff with Daniels crooning cleans, which continues into the best Chorus on the album. It stays at a nice alt rock/pop-punk sound and the duel clean vocals layered throughout work nicely and now I know that this is where the band should stay.
Don’t get me wrong, I love breakdowns, double bass, and big riffs like the next Myspace era nerd. But I also like feelings and softness. I’m sensitive when I want to be, and boy oh boy does ‘The Night Before The Morning After’ hit me right where it hurts, and no not the genital area. THE HEART. Its cheesy and damn corny with some cliché’ lyrics, acoustic guitars, and harmony vocals. Add in the nice little violin at the end and if I still wore eyeliner maybe just maybe I might resemble the Crow right about now.
Does ‘A Heartbeat Behind’ really need to be re-evaluated? Well, I compare this album to Matchbook Romances ‘Stories and Alibies’ which is also a pop-punk album disguised as a Post-Hardcore release. Sure it was released a couple years earlier, but I would hold both albums together as my go-to for people who want to hear an earlier take on the heavier version of pop-punk done so much better then say, A Day To Remember ever could.
