FIRST BLOOD, PART TWO
Those conspiracy theorists over at Hardtimes.ca have provided the hardcore scene with some of the most interesting and even bemusing interviews, not the least of these being with Frankie Palmeri of Emmure. Now, however, the site has debuted some brand new music from First Blood. Taken from their sophomore LP Silence Is Betrayal, “Confront” is hard-hitting both musically as well as lyrically. Frontman Carl Schwartz (ex-Terror) delivers a call to arms, railing against “crimes against humanity” over chugging guitars and militant drums.
Silence Is Betrayal drops November 9th on Bullet Tooth Records. The album is fucking slamming and you oughta pre-order it. First Blood is also headed out on the road with The Ghost Inside and Evergreen Terrace to support the record, so make sure to catch one of these dates.
There’s a sad, interesting desperation to a lot of new metalcore, especially the material released by bands that were doing it before it got over-saturated. A sense of eleventh hour panic has set in, and the guys who once had it made on Victory, Prosthetic, Metal Blade, and the like now have to fight for their place, pulling out all the stops to do so. This has resulted in surprisingly effective and revelatory shifts in approach (Poison the Well, to a much lesser extent As I Lay Dying), somewhat endearing adherences to a tried-and-true formula (Killswitch Engage), and the kind of crap that reminds you as to why metalcore stopped being interesting to begin with (almost literally every other metalcore band I didn’t mention). Evergreen Terrace, in terms of that scale, fall a little into all three categories, releasing a craptastic new album full of familiar-but-fun breakdowns and the occasional flourish of melody or jangling post-hardcore guitar to keep things from tasting stale and same-y. But the craptastic element casts a long shadow over the good parts, and leaves one wondering whether a band like Evergreen Terrace can ever truly make it out of the mall and into maturity. Almost Home, their new album, tries to reach the latter, but just winds up next to Banana Republic in the former.
I was conflicted about whether or not to go see As I Lay Dying on their most recent trek; I could give a fuck about AILD themselves (Vince and I utilized the time they were on stage at Ozzfest a few years back to go get a beer), but All That Remains and Through the Eyes of the Dead were also on the bill, so that seemed like it could be fun. Ultimately, I decided to sit the gig out, since both All That Remains shows I’ve seen have been anticlimactic, and I figure TTEOTD will be touring behind their super sweet Malice for some time to come.
