Damn, not bad. This is promising metalcore from Germany that combines a wide range of the genre's various forms to create a fairly unique and energetic result. The screaming vocals and some of the chunkier rhythms bring to mind the mid- to late-90's styles of bands like Harvest, whereas some of the more discordant chords have a modern ring, and the general sense of melodic and creative riffing/chord formations sound similar to some of the earlier material from Floridian acts like Shai Hulud and the like. That overt melody is what really drives these songs, and they cram a lot of riffs and changes into tactfully brief compositions without making things sound jumbled at all, which is a huge plus. The production is alright, but it does need to be stronger to really do these songs justice. The mix is thin, and I think that's the biggest problem. Nothing sounds all that bad, but the guitar tone needs a lot more crunch, the bass needs to maintain its definition but hold down the low-end more, and the drums could stand to be warmer and smoother. I think the vocals sound fine as they are, so I would leave that alone. The packaging looks okay. I like the glossy sheen of the printing, and the black and white photo across the cover looks great, but the fonts tend to get on my nerves, something about them sort of disrupts the stark simplicity of the rest of the layout. Most of the tracks deal with personal topics, and I don't form much of an opinion on the lyrics. They're okay. "It is just in your head. Fuck being paralyzed. Escape the floods of your remembrance. Escape the spiral. Start to focus on today." This is a lot better than I thought it would be. I definitely would like to hear more from this band in the future, and hopefully they can work out the kinks and really start kicking ass.
[Burning Season]
Running time - 12:01, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: A Year to Kill, The Urge for a Change of Scenery]
Burning Season Records - http://www.burningseasonrecords.com
