Interrogate
Unbroken
5.7
I am unsure if this is supposed to be a demo or just a self release as is. Either way, what we have is a band with vast potential, crap sound and an unfortunate tendency to play down to trendy metalcore sensibilities at the wrong moments. It's a crossover band more than a metalcore band in the modern sense, which means you will find no sickly sweet melodies or faux-impassioned teenaged moaned clean vocals. This band shouts, screams and wails. They play chunk heavy, generally thrashy hardcore, but spice it with some interesting phrasing now and then. Both the hardcore and thrash fan can find something in here to smile about.
But they can also find stuff to get annoyed at, namely the fact that chunky 5ths are kind of used up at this point, aren't they? We all kind of expect a bit more riff for our money these days. And you can't get away from the fact that we have heard this stuff done before, and better, for several years now. The band gets points for adding a bit of atmosphere to its compositions, but they are leaning too heavily on what we already know far too well in the crossover scene.
The production is forgivable for being quiet and unfortunately average if we assume this is self financed. It sounds like a demo, and if it is, then at least the sound doesn't ruin anything that otherwise would have worked. The musicianship can be inspired, but is far too often just pedestrian. The band should explore their more darkly progressive aspects if they want to be a stand out instead of an also ran.
The bottom line is that I can see this band developing into a good thrash/hardcore crossover act. They fall into mediocrity too often to recommend this highly, but if they make the right choices and concentrate on what makes them unique, they could be a serious force next time out. If nothing else they avoid the pitfalls of exuberance or angst replacing actual creativity. They have the honesty and the shitless throat ripping esthetic in place. If they drop the hack, they are ready to fucking go.
