How it Ends "So Shall it Be" CD
[Thorp]
Ehhh... this is pretty bland metalcore that suffers big time from a lackluster recording. The sound is really dry and there's a weird sort of hollowness to it. The guitars have a fucked up texture that's kind of cool, but it just doesn't work for this style. The drums sound alright, a bit tight, but alright. The vocals sound good. And there's a small amount of bass in there. But overall the sound falls short of really harnessing any force, and it's mainly due to the guitar tone caving in on itself and an uneven mix. They ought to make the bass a more central instrument as well, because judging from the bassline that kicks off "Time Life Took" the guy can really fucking hold his own. As for the songwriting, it's sort of like a sludgier Hatebreed in that everything's based around simple chord progressions and brutal mosh parts with gruff vocal shouts/screams, but they cover a little bit more ground in the slower tempo ranges here, also touching on some overly groovy rhythms that I'm not really into. Also harmful are the longer running times on some of the songs. The tracks that never hit three minutes tend to work the best, but once they start hitting or passing the four-minute mark things do drag. The layout looks pretty nice and consistent, and I think all of the imagery is actually taken from some of those classic Albrecht Dürer works that have been used a million times. The imagery is subtle though, often used as background texture more than anything else. The lyrics look tight but they can be hard to read since the font is really small and not as clean as the one used for the thanks lists and stuff. The lyrics do nothing for me as the writing is pretty repetitive and speaks little. It's mainly vague personal stuff about pain and suffering with some minor apocalyptic slants on rare occasion. "Pushing me through the hard times, is a pain that I hold dear, I'll never lay down to die, I'll never give in to fear, Walls that stand before me, I punch with all my might, I hold my fists with pride, still bleeding from the fight, Still bleeding." This is just a boring disc to me. After about three songs my ears adjust to the sound, but it's still not working for 'em. They need more variety and a better recording to really do some damage. They have their moments, but nothing is really drawing me in. (4/10)
Running time - 37:42, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: End the Suffering, Time Life Took]
Thorp Records - http://www.thorprecords.com

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