Insult 2 Injury
Demo
4.8
On “Beyond the Burning Bridge,” Pennsylvania’s Insult 2 Injury (yuck) come across as an everyday metalcore act only moments before transforming into a shittier version of The Old Dead Tree. In fact, not only do the melodies parrot those by TODT, but the clean vocalist sounds uncannily similar to Munoz. As a result of the stylistic shifts and other faults, Demo is an awkward and weak recording.
It’s not all bad though. From 3:40 to 4:15 of “Beyond the Burning Bridge,” I2I prove they’re capable of coming up with decent riffs, even if a majority of the 6-minute tune is a wash. The instrumental “Part One” – “Part Two” inexplicably absent – is certainly filler, but isn’t above functioning as respite if one would rather view it as such. “Broken Glass & Broken Hearts” is brighter than its companions, and like them, suffers from needless guitar noodling. Unfortunately, most of the songs are five or six minutes long, which becomes a mild form of overkill.
Interweaving ho-hum metalcore and TODT-esque melodies – combined with unnecessary soloing for any number of extraneous minutes per song – makes Demo a taxing listen from a taxing band. Since the average age of Insult 2 Injury is 18, however, they’ve got plenty of time to improve. Figure out exactly where you want to go with this, and quit wasting the listener’s time with material that could be half as short yet twice as enjoyable. Brevity isn’t always a bad thing, and neither is self-restraint.
