By Night
Burn The Flags
7.6
Remember that old credo most of us metalheads have? Take anything you you've ever liked and wait around until the Swedish make it. The product will always be something superior. Making their first appearance on a split with Cipher System, By Night are a great band playing old school metalcore with a few inventive twists and highly entertaining touches.
As cited everywhere, By Night have the general rhythm and hulking presence of Meshuggah, and also borrow slightly from their hazy and distant ringing notes played beneath. They're not a rip-off act, and not out to duplicate their sound; there's no shame in what they've done here. Vocalist Adrian Westin has one of the better voices in the genre, producing a raw and impassioned yell with perfect timing to match. It pains me to say this, as it pains me to even speak of this band due to how bothered I am that they broke up, but By Night sounds like a more routine and accessible version of Breach. Partially due to the vocals, but mostly in the guitar melodies and the metallic bass sound. While the guitars often line up with the drums for a real punchy and tight sound, they have huge buildups and stirring riffs, as well as harsh, direct, and swelling progressions. "One And The Same" uses a slower pace to create anticipation for a jarring chorus, and on "Completed", they take a different approach with a strident riff to start the song and to maintain the sound the entire way through. Where on albums like Chaosphere, the intelligence lies in the musicianship and ingenious and hard to follow songwriting method, Burn The Flags offers hints of the same but is also geared far more towards a liberal minded fanbase, a prime example being their use of using samples and strings on "At The End Of The Day", a three and a half minute instrumental.
This is one of the few discs that I'm slightly sad when it ends. While 35 minutes is an expected playing time for a full length, these songs just seem to blow by me again and again. If they could write material that's a little more clear-cut at parts, they could have an incredibly strong following. The songs just don't always stick. While frustrating, it's somewhat of a good sign, as I'm usually spinning Burn The Flags once more just to take everything in. Lifeforce has made a solid move in picking up By Night, and you should make a solid move to your record store and do the same.
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