Review of Every New Day - Even In The Darkest Places

I can admit that, in my own day, I have succumbed to some intense lethargy that has seen me sitting around my record player listening the same stellar record over and over again, taking it in one glorious note at a time, then irrationally exclaiming ‘this sounds awesome – fuck, I wish they’d collaborate with [insert equally amazing band]. That’d be the best record ever!’ However, amid all these peculiar pairings I disillusion myself into thinking would work - Tom Waits & Merzbow, Antony & Six Feet Under, Electric Wizard & Millions of Dead Cops – or any number of ridiculous others – I have never once found myself clamoring to know what Thrice would sound like if they paired themselves with Comeback Kid. I’m guessing few people have. In any case, I can at least say after listening to Every New Day’s new full length Even in the Darkest Places, I have an unexpected grasp of what that would be like – and to be honest – it wouldn’t be half bad.

Well, I should probably clarify. That is to say, it wouldn’t be half bad if I routinely took my new music cues from Fuse TV or another equally reputable purveyor of catchy, mildly aggressive hardcore – the kind place where Every New Day would be right at home. The trio, comprised of two brothers plus one friend, is another trophy of the consistently marketable Winnipeg, Canada hardcore scene (Figure Four, Comeback Kid) that play upbeat, melody laden hardcore or more specifically - what I’ve now heard referred to as melodicore. Whatever the hell that is. My ‘this-core, that-core’ terminology may be a little out of date but I’m guessing it basically signals to attention the extremely catchy and digestible version of melodic hardcore the band creates. So melodic in fact that to attach hardcore as a descriptor is almost an exaggeration--almost. While it does certainly borrow from modern hardcore - most obviously in the form of the driving snare-led drumming and the standard, positive-themed ‘break these chains’ gang chants – the most noticeable influence here is in the Thrice toned lead guitar riffs that plod along somewhere between pop punk accessibility and thrash technicality. I would be far removed from calling anything they do overly ‘heavy’ but at the same time - it would be unjust to deny them praise they deserve for the extremely concise and well structured guitar approach. The solid riffs, which bounce back and forth between three generations removed, watered down Scandinavian to more typical metalcore – merit, alone, enough attention to keep listening. Even the solos, though occasional, are more impressive than I’ve come to expect from this style of music. Nearly every song on the 11-track album has one or two hooks of genuine catchiness or intrigue that keep it from sounding overly trendy or outright generic.

I might be apt to enjoy the band’s take on the genre if they added another guitarist to thicken their guitar heavy mix and made guitar interplay the main attraction. Though, given their three piece status they do a commendable job of sounding complete, the first twenty seconds of the opener "Best Defenses" could very well pass as something you might mistake for a Darkest Hour B-side riff. It isn’t until the clean, mid-range vocals hit that it becomes clear what the band is really about, and this is where they falter. As would be expected – the vocals are mostly sung invariably through each song and complimented with the occasional backing scream. A partnership that typically works when attached to this commercialized style of hardcore - but END never really hit the mark on either, well… end. The singing is pretty bland and dismissible - while the screams (thankfully not the high-pitched, screamo whine) sound overly forced – similar to the later Time in Malta records. It isn’t until the guest by ex-Comeback Kid vocalist Scott Wade that it becomes painfully clear what a real vocalist could do for the band. Wade’s raw energy shouts give new life to the music and add a more inspired hardcore sound that merits the full force of the gang chants his chorus inspires.

If it isn’t clear by now, Even in the Darkest Places certainly won’t rank on the high priority list for anyone whose most anticipated albums this month are Isis or Anaal Nathrakh. If that is the case, then you should just stay away from this commercial, pre-teen friendly bit of melodic hardcore. However, if you enjoy bands like Thrice and the other pseudo-thrash melodic type bands you might want to give this a shot – it certainly isn’t the best thing to ever happen to the style, but it makes a damn fine argument.

Release Details

Every New Day

Even In The Darkest Places

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