The Auburn System
The Auburn System EP
7.5
With their feet planted firmly in death, grind, and melodic metalcore, Massachusetts' The Auburn System have released a solid little EP that will surely make their home state brethren proud.
Similar to acts like The Hostage Heart and Blood Has Been Shed, who run the gamut of modern death and grind derivatives, The Aubrun System are likely to end up with the metalcore tag simply for a lack of a better term. But, for the purpose of this review, I will file these guys under heavy. Sharing more with Blood Has Been Shed than just their refusal to be pigeonholed, The Auburn System also display a similar composure when shifting gears. This effortlessness is present not only in the band's performance, but also in the roomy production, which does well to capture the vitality of the group rather then mechanizing their performances.
Alternating between jagged ascending/descending riffing and lumbering breakdowns, "Penny Brown" and "James Beradinelli is the Smartest Man on the Internet" are straight out of The Hostage Heart school of digestible entropy. "Better Than God" and "New Old One" feature piecemeal melodic interludes that account for the more memorable moments on this EP. The band's ability to embrace modestly their melodic sensibilities is satisfying, as it offers a welcome port in the otherwise constantly churning maelstrom without creating tunes that degenerate into predictable Gothenburg-lite.
The Auburn System offer a wise alternative for those who grow increasingly tired of anything -core affiliated. With a looseness and cunning reckless abandon uncommon to most of their peers, these rookies get a nod for somehow finding a way to purvey no-nonsense heaviness while still carving a faintly discernable face for themself. I'm interested in seeing where this band goes from here.
