Never Looking BackFrom the far Northwest comes these guys and a gal from Tacoma, WA who play slightly metallic melodic hardcore. Not exactly sure what these guys have under their belts in terms of material, but I'm fairly certain that this is their debut full length.
There are 9 rock solid songs of driving melodic hardcore that has some short lived breakdowns that spice up the tracks a bit. The songs usually get over the 3 minute mark with ease, with two songs that are short, barely breaking the minute mark.
The band does a good job of layering the melodic chord progressions with the driving basslines and pummeling kick (ever so often the drummer will bust into a little double bass). The singer has a great voice for this brand of hardcore, his voice comes off desperate (in a good way). The one thing I didn't like were the clean back up vocals, luckily sparingly because if that was used for the whole album, wouldn't have liked this album nearly as much.
The lyrics touch on a variety of good issues: there's a song about girls who get abused sexually ("Eyes Never Lie"), having unconditional love for someone ("If All Else Fails"), reacting to someone close to you dying ("It's All I Have"), realizing you have to make your own path in life, ("Impossible Dreams"), giving everything they have to the band ("These Days"), looking at life more positively than negatively ("Never Ending"). It's also important to note, they are well written and are definitely one of the strong points of the band.This one sports an above average recording. The drums sound natural, the kick has good tone and plenty of level. The bass tone is pretty good, it's got a nice mid-high tone that works well within the mix. It does the job of filling the gap between the guitars and drums. I like the guitar tone, it isn't really "thick" but that isn't necessarily needed. Nothing bad to say about the vocals.
Nothing terribly eye catching with this layout but it'll suffice. It's got all the basic essentials; the typical hardcore font for band name and album title, check. The live band shot contrasted into the background, check. Some of the finer aspects of this layout; the quote "This is fear...this is love...this is anger", from "Never Ending" that is placed on the exposed part of the tray. And the lyrics that come with an explanation from the man who wrote them. I like the color scheme too.Rating: 3.6/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Never Ending and Eyes Never Lie
Synopsis: This band is pretty good. It's nothing new as you've probably already guessed but the songs have energy and you can tell they have passion for what they do. The music is better than most bands within this style (and there are a lot of them!) and the lyrics, while not covering any uncharted territory, are above average as well. If you enjoy these bands (Comeback Kid, Verse, Modern Life Is War, etc.,) then odds are you'll get down with the style these guys are putting down, check out some of the songs at their page...click here, and if you like what you hear, make the fucking purchase and support a fine hardcore label.