Strength in Numbers "The Veil" CD
[Ironbound]
This New Jersey act plays modern metalcore that's way more metal than most, and they actually have two vocalists - one for the harsh shouting/yelling and the other for singing.  Musically it's kind of a mix of melodic Swedish death metal, classic thrash, and chugga styled 90's European metalcore, complete with blazing solos, plenty of tempo changes and dual guitar interaction, etc.  Both of the vocalists are actually pretty good, too.  The way they frequently shift from yelling to singing can be a little disjointed since having two vocalists makes it easier to jump around without warning, but with a little work this band could definitely drop some hot shit.  I really like the vocal melodies that the singer unloads because they're pretty catchy, but not in a cheesy way, and he definitely sings with feeling.  The only setback is that he often sounds like he's straining too much, so he'll probably need to work on his lungpower and such in order to become more comfortable belting that shit out.  "Time's Not Wasted" has a damn catchy chorus though, I'm definitely into that one, although I have to say that the dual guitar lead comes out of nowhere out sounds really out of place amidst everything else.  And that hits on the only problem I have with their songwriting: They write killer riffs and slick vocal melodies, but the songs are often too long and they tend to wander around and lose impact here and there by throwing in unnecessary changes and stuff like that.  The record's just too long, I mean, 12 tracks in 45 minutes?  That's kind of pushing it for me, but were they to trim the fat on some of the longer songs that would definitely help.  Don't get me wrong, there are some weak or generic riffs in here too, but I think that would be a non-issue if they could focus on their strengths and shape up the minor problem areas, because the playing is tight and they very clearly have a lot of talent.  "Momentum" is a very well written song that never loses sight of where it's heading, and "Unfolds" is a close second to that, but there are also the overly choppy rhythms in the generally annoying "Frostbite" that definitely make for a filler track if you ask me.  The production's decent, it just needs a little more polishing up.  There's a bit of dryness to the guitars that leaves them feeling like they need to be brighter, the drums are a little too rigid, and I'm not making out much bass at all.  It sounds pretty good, but it does kind of have that "not quite there" aesthetic to it, you know?  That makes sense since this is their debut full-length and they're not on a huge label, but with a stronger set of production values they'd definitely inch ahead.  Visually everything looks nice except the cover.  I like the clean type, I like the consistent textures, but that stupid looking face wrapped in gauze or whatever on the cover looks completely silly and totally kills it for me.  Sorry.  Lyrically things are alright, dealing with perseverance and things like that.  Not great, not bad.  "Only the strong survive, and I'm still alive.  I'm still right here and breathing.  I'm gonna struggle on and free myself and never let them change me..."  I guess there's a video on the CD-Rom portion of the disc but it wouldn't play for me, so... no comment.  All in all they definitely have a lot of energy (the dual vocal attack certainly adds to that) and for my money there's a lot working in their favor on this one.  I'm not totally convinced at this point, but I bet they're gonna start making some waves, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the next one hits at the next step up, because I've always been a huge fan of a lot of metalcore bands from Jersey, and these guys could be the next in line on that point. (6/10)
Running time - 44:52, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Time's Not Wasted, Momentum, Unfolds]
Ironbound Recordings - http://www.ironboundrecordings.com

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