You've got to give the band a little leeway in terms of the silly band name and album title, after all, they are from Japan, so English is far from their first language. That being said, their style of metalcore is much more geared towards the melodic Swedish sound, however, in their defense, they're definitely coming at it from a different angle. Yes, most of the vocals are sneering midrange snarls, and sure, there are a decent amount of typical dual guitar harmonies with a few commonplace breakdowns as well. And, fair enough, some of the songs sound pretty similar to one another, too. But, I really like their emphatic use of dual guitar parts that complement one another quite nicely, and a lot of the melodic chord progressions can be pretty creative. Plus, they're drawing from a lot of classic metal influences as well, so there's a bunch of playing herein that kind of sounds like Iron Maiden channel by Hammerfall channeled by a contemporary metalcore band. And that goes for the solos as well, which are generally pretty well executed nods to 80's metal. "No Belief" is the first track that introduces some singing, and while I think that could add some nice contrast to the aggressive vocals, it just isn't doing much for me since the guy's simply not a very good singer, so his delivery sounds forced and uncomfortable, and he'd be best served sticking with the screaming unless he really improves the quality of his singing. "Time is Gone" starts off with way overdramatic piano before jumping into a surprisingly chunky midpaced chord progression, but despite this weak intro and a generally bland pace, there are some curious riffs in this one that could prove interesting in the future. And what's up with the random Slayer riffs in "Planetarium Sphere" - which is an otherwise typical melodic Swedish death metal track!? "No Belief" and "Blinker" are the band's best tracks thus far, as each highlights the zippy energy and slightly faster pacing of traditional heavy metal in conjunction with the band's more modern delivery. I don't really have a huge problem with the recording, but it does need a lot work. It's listenable for sure, and the clarity's nice, but the drums need to sound less machinated (sound-wise, the drummer actually needs to tighten up his playing) and the guitar tone would also benefit from a warmer, brighter style of distortion. I also think the bass and guitars need to be mixed louder to really dominate the material, because right now the drums and vocals are leaning a little out in front. The layout looks fine and uses largely abstract textures and designs with one band photo and clean, basic text. The lyrics are in Japanese, but only English translations are provided, and most of the content kind of deals with maintaining a sense of hope and struggling for understanding in life and things like that. Overall this band has a lot to work on, and it's a shame that the bulk of their style is so typical, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt because the few inventive riffs do make a difference, and I'm definitely enjoying the traditional metal influences. If they'd work out the kinks in their songwriting to achieve a more consistent energy level and tighter performances, in addition to cleaning up the recording, the results could indeed be worth noting.
[Gods Child]
Running time - 38:23, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: No Belief, Blinker]
Gods Child Music - http://www.godschild.com.hk
