Curse of Instinct "As the Rain Falls Down..." CD
[Burning Season]
Here's a very brief EP from this Slovenian act, opening with a quick instrumental using clean rhythm guitars and a nice melodic lead, and then dropping into some melodic metalcore that's... well, honestly? It's pretty horrible. It's not as generic as most of these bands are, but it's very sloppy. The performances aren't as tight as they should be, and the recording is pretty fucked up. The mix isn't consistent, the vocals are really thin and abrasive, the guitars get messy and hard to decipher, the drums are flimsy and also can get lost in the shuffle, etc. Surprisingly the bass performance is the one thing that consistently sounds fine. As for the writing, there's definitely a certain melodic Swedish death metal edge to the tremolo picking riffs and some of the harmonies, but the basslines are more defined, and there are a lot of good chunky rhythms and flat our 90's metalcore breaks - which I much prefer. I also like the midrange vocal screams a hell of a lot more than the obnoxious high sneers or low growls, which get on my nerves a lot. "Tomorrow Never Came" is the most diverse track, experimenting with some different percussion sounds, a lot of vocal styles, and a fairly nice piano intro. That there aren't as many generic guitar runs, instead opting for some acoustic guitars and spoken vocals, is also interesting... it's just a shame that the sound is so weak and the band so out of synch. I'm not into the layout because aside from the band logo and the handwritten text on the back of the booklet, the fonts and imagery are bland, and the colors are too muddy. There are some faded band photos and images of bound hands, but it all sort of looks slapped together. Lyrically things sway from personal topics to observation, some of which is generic, and some of which I can definitely appreciate: "If only I had known what man is capable of, I would never want to be born in a place like this..." I don't know, if these guys threw out all of the tremolo picking, beefed up the recording, and tightened their playing, they could be mildly impressive on some levels. I just can't get into this EP in its current incarnation. A handful of powerful riffs can't save you when you're suffering from larger problems with the delivery. (3/10)
Running time - 15:31, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Lost in Thoughts]
Burning Season Records - http://www.burningseasonrecords.com

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