Seven tracks of fairly creative metalcore that blends the ultra crunchy mosh styles with a more discordant and chaotic angle. The vocals are pretty standard screams with a harsh texture, and the songwriting isn't exactly groundbreaking, but there are definitely subtle little oddities that jump out and grab my interest. Some of the more frantic chord progressions or chaotic pull-off types of riffing in the first few tracks are on the more generic and uninteresting side of things, but midway through the demo things make a huge turn for the better. "Sparkle Motion" is thicker and has a great melodic undercurrent with some sick chord progressions and nice dissonant note combinations, making for what is by far the best track herein. This same approach carries over into "Liquor & Jazz", another total winner with some strong uses of melody against crushing heaviness and an almost sludgy vibe... with some hints at singing and a few odd time signatures. "Even the Greatest Storytellers Know When to Shut Up" continues the heavier and more rhythmic focus with even more sludgy chords and picking patterns. Admittedly some of the tracks aren't quite robust enough to pull off running times pushing five minutes and might be better suited for more focused lengths, but when they hit it they hit it hard, so... I can live with that. I also like that the intro/outro tracks are more relaxed with some clean guitars and spacious arrangements, which is something they could probably use within the longer tracks to break things up a little (as they do in the brief but pounding "Shoreline"). For a demo the recording sounds pretty damn good. The bass tone is really strong and often plays a good role, the percussion sounds natural and has a good punch (highlighting some really nice fills/patterns), the guitars are heavy and well textured, and the vocals don't overpower at all. It needs a little cleaning up of course, but there's a certain rugged edge that sounds great, so I think if they could reach a balance between powerful clarity and that careful rawness they'll be set. The layout is all done in high contrast black and white with fairly abstract imagery and slightly pixilated text that's a little hard on the eyes. That aspect could be better, but I do like the feel of the cover art. Lyrically things are personal and deal with relationships and all that, so it's not all that new, sort of mixing in a little bit of sarcasm with lines like, "You broke your heart and it's bleeding on my shoes..." Not bad at all. There's definitely room for improvement, and I think there needs to be some improvement, but for a demo this is solid. I'm surprised they're not signed yet based on the strengths of the latter half of the demo. With the right budget behind them and a bit more practice these kids could crank out some rippers. I would recommend focusing on the rhythmic side of things with an emphasis on dissonant melody and moderate paces, as that's where their strengths are. So... less of the semi-acerbic/chaotic stuff, more of everything else. Certainly one to watch.
[self-released]
Running time - 28:13, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Sparkle Motion, Liquor & Jazz, Shoreline]
The Gorgeous - http://www.hxcmp3.com/bands/2268/
