Everest
Where Earth Meets the Sky
8.2
Synopsis:
From the ashes of underrated metalcore outfit Nehemiah, comes Everest...
Review:
Here is the first release from the label started by If Hope Dies guitarist Thad Jackson, and it’s a doozy. The 2003 album, The Asphyxiation Process from Minnesota’s own Nehemiah, remains one of my favorite metalcore albums (“A Virgin Burial” has arguably the greatest breakdown ever) yet seems slightly underappreciated in halls of the saturated the genre, so when Nehemiah folded, though disappointed, I was glad that members went on to help improve a struggling Dead To Fall. However, the remaining members that did not join Dead To Fall (vocalist Evan Nagan, guitarist Steve Henningsgard and drummer Nick Nelson) soon resurfaced in Everest; and suitable development of Nehemiah’s sound has been reborn.
Though superficially Everest deliver standard metalcore with this introductory four song EP, it is first, rendered by a talented group of scene veterans responsible for one of the genre’s better albums, and second, has enough quirky differences to give it tons of potential for greater things, should the band stick it out.
Within this brief but fun EP, there is plenty of confident rocking melodic chops and tangents to give it some above and beyond clout similar to bands like Between the Buried and Me (though not quite as chaotic/off the wall), The Demonstration and such. Solos, clean (but arguably tongue in cheek) power metal vocals in the superb “Here at the End of All Things” and a tangible Nehemiah structure to the Euro-death inspired galloping, but to its credit (but to my disappointment) does not rely on thunderous breakdowns (though a few paced rumbles appear here and there) as Nehemiah did, and is free from the growly cliches of deathcore. The tracks gallop with a rock confidence and prose (the title track), but shimmer with a girth, aggression, resonance (I love the orchestral peak for the epic “The Final Farewell”) and occasional introspective moment (the string section in “Cursed” is well done) of the band’s prior incarnation. None of the four songs sounds forced or piecemeal, just 5 guys playing with the urgency of unfinished business and skill deserving of another shot.
I’m not sure why these three continued under a different moniker as Everest (a fairly common band name it turns out) could easily construed Nehemiah without the devastating heft and an added orchestral element especially after hearing the material on the Lenore EP. Still, a very, very promising EP that will lead to a spectacular full length debut some time soon.
