This is discordant, mildly chaotic, somewhat technical metalcore from Cleveland. I'm not that into it because, while fairly competent, the songwriting is still flawed enough to get to me, and the performances and recording do need some work. They're at a decent jumping off point, if this was a demo I'd probably listen to it a bit more openly, but as a professionally released EP it falls a little flat. I like the sick, throaty texture to the screaming vocals (even if they are a little overbearing), and some of the straight metal riffs are cool as well, but overall I'm pretty bored by this. The second track is a weird little untitled clean instrumental with a jazzy flare that I actually like a lot, complete with its roaming basslines and layered melodies... if they could implement that sort of creativity and writing cohesiveness into their regular framework they could do some damage. In "This Boring War" there's a break of programmed drums and electronic sounds that comes off as experimenting just for the hell of it rather than actually adding anything to the song, but other than that they stick to what they do without messing around. For the most part it's a blend of frantic speed and pull-off riffs, winding midpaced note patterns meshed with thicker chords, obligatory chugga styled breakdowns that flirt with atypical time signatures, lots of drum fills and changeups, random death metal tremolo picking riffs, etc. It's pretty standard for the style, they just keep the tempos in check a bit better without flying all over the place, and the playing is tighter than most (while still not quite perfect). As for the production problems, it's really a matter of there being too much empty space in the mix, and a few odd tones that I can't quite finger. The drums sound alright, a little rigid but alright, and the bass tone tends to hold its own space, but the guitars and vocals are both on the slightly choppy side, certainly dominating the volume levels. I'd like to hear the bass given more space and the guitars/vocals brought in against the rhythm section to get rid of those gaps. The guitar tone also needs more force somehow, it's a little lacking in crunch, and I think that works with the subtle rigidity of the percussion to create a hovering sort of midrange sheen. The layout looks pretty damn good and maintains a consistent look with dirty textures, very subtle and minimal colors (mostly black and white), and crisp type. It's pretty straightforward, with similar artwork on the disc overlapping its clear edges. The lyrics are bitter personal tomes largely dealing with soured relationships and stuff, as bluntly as possible: "I can still hear you through the phone, As I sit and listen to the tone. You hung up on me. I hung up on life..." It's a little forced in the rhyming department, and I'm not totally into it, but that "I hung up on life" line is pretty good, I have to admit I cracked a smile of approval at that one. But musically this isn't doing anything for me. There are a handful of parts that I like, but aside from that instrumental no one song stands out to me. I know a lot of kids eat this stuff up but I just don't get it. Most of these bands have a long way to go before they drive it home.
[United Edge]
Running time - 16:09, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: the untitled instrumental]
United Edge Records - http://www.unitededge.com
