Destiny
The Tracy Chapter
7.5
It seems Germany is getting heavier and heavier into metalcore, with bands like Destiny and Caliban and then of course the record label that is home to both. I haven’t had much chance to hear Caliban, but I have to say that I’m enjoying Destiny’s latest offering quite a bit. The four-piece onslaught plays a melodic brand of metalcore that is nothing amazing, but enjoyable nonetheless.
The first thing that came to mind when listening to this was the crushing and heavy parts of Zao. On top of that, imagine an uplifting melody structure that never gets too cheesy and holds together perfectly between the crunches. Sebastian Formella’s riffs range from slightly thrashy, to melody filled strumming, to chunky breakdowns (which themselves can be occasionally fused with melody), and perfectly accent Johannes Formella’s desperate screams. Filled with emotion, but still with some gut to it, he can scream with the best of them in the metalcore arena. Also, his clean vocals (which make appearances from time to time) remind me of Obsolete-era Fear Factory. It’s hard to describe the exact sound, but if you’ve heard that album, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. Rounding off the package is the heavy rhythm section of crushing double kicks and pounding bass lines.
Sure I know it’s nothing revolutionary, but The Tracy Chapter is just downright good music. Songs like “Passing Moments” and “Forsaken Love” come across with loads of emotion, while retaining the heaviness this band is about. While other songs like “The Admiration of Sadness” have that uplifting feel, that is also a signature touch found within Destiny’s music. On top of that, the excellent production rounds off a pretty solid product. The heavy bass lines can be heard with no straining, the drums are perfectly mixed, with the toms nice and booming and the double kicks adding to the crunch when needed. The vocals are never overbearing and the guitars ring perfectly throughout the album. If you’re a fan of the more melodic side of metalcore I see you digging this a lot, if you’re a casual fan, you might not find this as enticing. However, I have to say this is a band worth looking into if metalcore is your thing.
