Since The Day
El Mensajero No Es Importante
6.9
Here we have another piece of the nationwide German effort to overtake America’s metalcore output. Since the Day are a Teutonic export in the standard German metalcore style; Gothenburg chop collides with rumbling deathcore thunder and the occasional foray into clean vocal territory all over this release, with solid but very predictable results. There aren’t a whole lot of terribly exciting musical occurrences on El Mensajero No Es Importante, but Since the Day do display some measure of potential here, and with some luck and hard work they could conceivably develop into one of Germany’s better acts.
It’s clear that these guys have at least done their homework. Like Fear My Thoughts and Heaven Shall Burn before them, Since the Day drop nods to all of the obvious influences but also glean a few stylistic tidbits from less well-trod territory. Opener “Welcome to the Show” rolls right into the expected tremolo-picked gallop and followup “Lunar Eclipse” kicks off with a predictably glistening lead, but “For Too Long” is where the band displays its first creative spark. The track rumbles through a dragging but melodic chord progression that sounds like Crowbar’s muscle backing up the underappreciated Impure Wilhelmina’s denser moments. The production values here are both above average and somewhat out of the norm; instead of the usual Tue Madsen clarity, Since the Day have opted for a crunchier, slightly grittier tone courtesy of Kohlekeller Studios. The out-of-character production not only gives Since the Day an (admittedly superficial) edge in the Great Metalcore Soundalike Demolition Derby, it noticeably enhances moments like the aforementioned track and the slightly Eucharist-esque “Powder Keg.”
The fact remains, though, that the majority of this album is made up of competent but ultimately forgettable metalcore. Songs like “En Vo6ue” thrash and slam their way by without a single sign of their passage, while in other places Since the Day’s mild stylistic meanderings blow up in their faces. “From Day to Day” opens up with an enjoyably chunky verse riff, but self-destructs when the snarled, Beyond the Embrace-styled hard-rock chorus kicks in. Whichever band member produces the clean vox might want to hold on to his day job; while I appreciate the deviation from the standard pristine metalcore singing voice, this shit simply doesn’t carry well. Ill-advised closing ballad “Mascara Eyes” even sees the Mad Snarler delivering some disturbingly Chester Bennington-inspired howls. Yuck.
Make no mistake; this is a squarely average metalcore release. For every enjoyable or creative moment there’s an insipid, thoughtless one, and the result is a decidedly third-tier release by a fairly inexperienced band. That said, El Mensajero No Es Importante is Since the Day’s debut, and the band have provided ample evidence of their potential when firing on all cylinders. If these guys clean up their songwriting and pursue some of their more successful idiosyncrasies, I can see them cranking out some exceptional work, but until then they aren’t likely to garner much attention in the increasingly cramped ‘core world.
