Ahhh, now here's something refreshing: Melodic Swedish metalcore that's actually far superior to most of what's out there, based solely on songwriting. Stylistically it's more towards straight metal than a good number of such bands, thankfully straying from any chaotic riffing and few simplistic breakdowns, but the writing really flows well, and some of the harmonies are actually fucking amazing. There are a lot of tempo changes, but they tend to stick with moderately fast runs that combine tasteful tremolo picking, dual guitar harmonies, heavier death metal rhythms, etc. with your general acerbic vocal screams and a few spoken passages. The spoken passages are distinctly female, so I assume all of the vocals are handled by a woman, but you'll never be able to tell for the most part. At times some of the more straightforward chord progressions remind me of later Catharsis, and that's no small feat... there's definitely a strong sense of urgency and energy to both the writing and the performances. The recording is pretty nice as well. Better than the band's last record, better than most bands of this genre, etc. The guitar tone is clear and has a good bit of dirtiness to it, you can hear the bass, the vocals sound really good, and the drums don't bother me. Of course there are tiny little bits I would touch up if I could have my say, and there are little alterations that could make it better... but there's nothing worth nitpicking as it sounds very fucking good as is. Visually everything looks decent. Everything is printed on matte paper which always rules, the imagery tends to looks nice, and the text is crisp. I really like the lyrics on this one as well, because they're far more intelligent and creative than a wealth of these other bands, tackling larger messages without being too blatant. "The starving sound of fire, as heaven and earth collide, Cast off like skin this suffering, on broken knees to rise, To sift through bitter ashes, to bleed like sacrifice, Our hearts forever burning, to breathe with newfound life." I'm fairly confident in saying that you're gonna have a damn hard time finding a melodic Swedish metalcore record that's better than this one in this day and age. Musically, lyrically... it's just above the vast majority of what's out there. I'd rank this as a borderline 8/10 in regards to this specific genre, as it's just a really enjoyable disc with no filler. I think they could take their strengths to another level by pushing the boundaries and giving their sound some sort of innovative or creative edge, but they've been successful thus far regardless.
[One Day Savior]
Running time - 29:12, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Reckoning, Teratisms, The Age of Grace]
One Day Savior Recordings - http://www.onedaysavior.com
