It's been quite awhile since Diecast dropped their debut, and I imagine they'll be doing pretty well with this one since this style of metalcore has kind of blown up since that time. This is the band's first recorded output with new vocalist Paul Stoddard, who maintains the ability to shift between shouting and singing, though slightly more adeptly than their pervious frontman, as there are several levels of singing and aggressive styles offered throughout. Like Killswitch Engage's latest effort, this record is a bit more metallic in nature, focusing less on churning grooves and breakdowns (though such playing is definitely still in place) in favor of staccato rhythms, hints of melodic Swedish runs, and thick melodic chord progressions. It's not original or anything, it's pretty standard for what has become this particular form of metalcore over the last five years, but they're definitely competent players and writers, so I like most of this material. "Rise & Oppose" is one of the heavier tracks and is also the worst song, as the tremolo picking and discordant chords are simply weak and generic. In many of the other songs it's definitely the case that the choruses are better than anything else, but I can live with that since there are some slick vocal harmonies and melody lines that really stand out. "Medieval" is one of the better harder hitting tracks that includes lots of thrash-esque metal riffing blended with some tactful groove, as is "Rebirth" (though the drums in the latter are obnoxiously loud and really start to drown out the guitars). Opener "Fire/Damage" is definitely among the better songs, opening with a nice acoustic intro (which they should mess with a little more) and keeping the vocals diverse over some high energy picking patterns and a memorable chorus. The recording's alright, but needs a little more polishing. I like the bass tone and the way it acts to subtly fill in all of the gaps, and the drums possess enough density to work very well despite coming up too loud in the mix, but the vocals and guitars need a little more push. The singing isn't bright enough to really fill out the sound, and the guitars need more volume and oomph, too. It's not always evident since the bass does its job, but anytime one guitar drops out the distortion really feels thin. So... it sounds very good, but needs to be of a slightly higher caliber to really do the band justice in the water they're treading musically. To be on the level the layout is fucking awful on this thing, though. The metallic silver foil lettering is a nice touch, and the cover is tolerable, but elsewhere it's nothing but a slew of bland band photographs and ultra plain looking text. Everything is very jumbled, and the entire affair is far below the standards of a release on such a prominent label. This looks more like a self-released debut than a fairly high profile sophomore effort. The lyrics deal with persistence and a bleak yet determined outlook on life, so it's nothing special, but they do at least take things a little farther than some such bands as far as opting not to repeat the lyrics over and over, instead developing them a bit more with longer arrangements. All that being said, and clearly I think this is a solid record, it's just not there yet. The band still has room to grow, and I expect that the next one's gonna be the real keeper. I think the minor improvements that could be made to the recording would bring more force out of the songs for sure, and as the band progresses naturally I think the songwriting hitches will fall into place as well. Not bad, they're still getting there.
[Century Media]
Running time - 38:20, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Fire/Damage, Torn From Within, Savior]
Century Media Records - http://www.centurymedia.com
