On Broken Wings "It's All a Long Goodbye" CD
[Eulogy]
This is definitely a more focused record than their last. Overall their style is similar in that they still center around chugga styled breakdown grooves and dissonant metal riffs with harsh vocals that lean towards growls. However, the singing vocals have improved greatly, and there are some surprisingly promising hints of melody as well. Really the weakest moments on the disc this time out are the metal riffs, which tend to have a European metalcore vibe going on, simply because they're not that powerful and also tend to sound sloppy due to the guitar tone (more on that later). And technically there are still enough changes going on to where the writing comes off as disjointed in certain respects, but the overall delivery has improved enough to where they get by in a better light with this material. "More Than Life" is definitely a well written song that possesses more energy than most of the band's work, actually coming off as fairly catchy in its ability to infuse subtle melodic tinges that never lack heaviness; and "Frozen Over" is among the tracks that hits on more of a straightforward metallic hardcore vibe at times with some basic power chords contrasted by discordant pull-offs and twisted lead riffing. Also impressive, to the most significant degree, is "Listless", which is more of a midpaced bruiser that tosses in one sweet set of slow and dingy melodic chords and some of the most prominent singing on the entire disc, complete with vocal harmonies and everything. The problem is that this area never returns, whereas had they built the entire song around that particular bridge it would've been amazing, so I'm a little disappointed that they're not integrating that stuff into their style more often. A similar situation arises afterwards in "Tongue in Teeth", which very creatively keeps hinting at this one massive melodic break that finally hits hard and blends intense screaming and singing, but never rears its head again as the track ends up throwing in some unnecessary tremolo picking that doesn't do anything for me. At that point I start getting pissed, like, "What the fuck are these dudes thinking!?" I mean, no shit, I'd be flipping out if these entire songs were as forceful as those brief passages. "Ashes and Snow" is a pretty good balance of heaviness and melody, where the singing break is longer and feels a little more fleshed out and complete, and though there a few hitches in the transitions throughout the piece it tends to carry its weight better, so... that's a good sign in the end. The recording's pretty damn good overall. I'd like to hear the drums given a little more warmth, but I say that all the time. Other than that the bass gets lost and the vocals (mainly the singing) can sound slightly off to the side of the music, but I'm all for the thick and nasty guitar tone. The only setback there, as I touched on previously, is that some of the thinner metal riffs can sound choppy as a result of the guitar tone's grit, so... it works superbly for the thicker rhythms and chugging palm muting, but it's not well suited for the other stuff. The layout's not really doing much for me since the collaged photographs and newspaper looking setup are a little stale at this point, but at least the cover looks solid, so screw it. The lyrics tend to be succinct and deal with your usual dose of personal trauma and turmoil with lots of references to pain, choking, heartlessness, and stuff like that, so... you probably know what you're in for there. I don't know, I know this band seems to like it brutal, and maybe they're afraid their fans (or their detractors) would call 'em pussies for throwing in more singing and more melody if they started to draw more attention to that stuff aspect of their repertoire, but I say fuck all that shit, because those little bits in "Listless" and "Tongue in Teeth" prove that these guys could destroy their competition if they really went to work with the melody and the singing. That's what they're doing best on this record and they're doing it in a way that shits on a lot of other bands that are out there right now, so... I vote for keeping the sheer aggression and churning midpaced brutality, but by all means, use your full range talents. Those two melodic breaks are amazing and rise far above anything else herein, so I seriously think this band could be incredible were they to spread their time more evenly between that approach and the chugging metalcore. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out from a writing standpoint, but I'm giving this one the benefit of the doubt because the band's progression is easily noted, and those fuckin' melodies... come on, guys... explore that shit more often. I ain't that easy to impress, so that shit counts for somethin'! (7/10)
Running time - 32:25, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: More Than Life, Listless, Tongue in Teeth, Ashes and Snow]
Eulogy Recordings - http://www.eulogyrecordings.com

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