Here's some curious metalcore from Sweden that blends a thrashy sort of influence against contemporary metalcore and post-hardcore riffs with a fairly unique set of vocal screams that are in the upper-midrange and have a different sound from the norm (Kind of like Negative Male Child - anyone remember them?). The songwriting does bear some resemblance to melodic Swedish death metal on occasion (mainly in "Humiliation"), but there are a lot of chugging staccato rhythms as well that have more of a Meshuggah meets Lamb of God sort of thing happening, and then there are the more discordant textures that have more of that metalcore-ish vibe. "The Clown" breaks out some nice acoustic guitars midway through for a brief break against distorted bass and distant feedback, and "Liar" makes the most of the post-hardcore influences and layers in some cool melody lines over a nice performance by the rhythm section. I really don't care for the main riffs in "Walk Away" as they get slightly groovier and one has an irritating melody line to it that almost has some sort of Middle Eastern flare, but this is the only song that I find to be weak as a whole. I like that the vocals are a little different, but I have to admit that they sort of start to get on my nerves after a few songs. I think part of that is because of the way they're recorded though, so perhaps I'd feel differently under optimal circumstances. The recording's really not bad for an EP. It needs some work, but I can live with it. As mentioned, the vocals are the key element that need work, because they sound thinner than the instruments do, resulting in sounding somewhat separated from the music and lacking the roundness of the core. The guitar tone is pretty damn crunchy and you can make out some of the bass parts, I'm okay with most of that. I think the drums need a little more resonance at times, there are some overly clicky undertones, but the snare has a good snap and I like the crispness of the cymbal work a lot. Not bad for the most part. The CD comes in a slim cardboard slipcase with minimal text on the back and some abstract shapes on the front, so it's mostly blank white space. Plain, sure, but it actually looks fairly elegant in its minimalism, and I like the packaging for what it offers. There's no insert or anything, so what you see is what you get. Not bad. I'm not blown away, but there's something here that points to better things for this band. It's a shame they're not quite there yet, but they do have something lingering about that separates them from the pack and makes them different. I'd like to hear more from these guys over time.
[Worston]
Running time - 15:44, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Humiliation, Liar]
Slowlife - http://www.worstonrecords.com/slowlife/
