The craziest thing about I Prevail is that Trauma is only their second album. They've already racked up millions of streams, toured the world with Pierce the Veil, and broken the notion that the "Warped Tour wave of metalcore" will die anytime soon — not as long as we have songs like "Bow Down" and "Gasoline" to keep the party going.
"Warped wave" fans never particularly cared about subgenre loyalty, so the transition from hardcore to pop metal is a smooth one. I Prevail test the limits of this on Trauma and come out ahead of the pack; it's ambitious for a band not yet out of their 20s.
I Prevail's breakout was a Taylor Swift cover included on Pop Goes Punk, and they're not gonna forget that. For every breakdown and mosh riff, there's an Auto-Tune vocal hook that could have come from Post Malone or many other Top 40 hits.
It's not surprising they would move this way, but the degree to which they've embraced pop is troubling. Hopefully they don't forget to include heaviness on future releases, because "Deadweight" is as vicious as anything the band have ever put out before. The other material is very hit-and-miss, ranging from tasty trap on "Paranoid" to bad boy band melodrama on "Let Me Be Sad."
Injecting an element of slick electronica is all well and good, but once you start to sound like Justin Timberlake, you risk alienating both crowds when you switch back to death growling.
(Fearless)"Warped wave" fans never particularly cared about subgenre loyalty, so the transition from hardcore to pop metal is a smooth one. I Prevail test the limits of this on Trauma and come out ahead of the pack; it's ambitious for a band not yet out of their 20s.
I Prevail's breakout was a Taylor Swift cover included on Pop Goes Punk, and they're not gonna forget that. For every breakdown and mosh riff, there's an Auto-Tune vocal hook that could have come from Post Malone or many other Top 40 hits.
It's not surprising they would move this way, but the degree to which they've embraced pop is troubling. Hopefully they don't forget to include heaviness on future releases, because "Deadweight" is as vicious as anything the band have ever put out before. The other material is very hit-and-miss, ranging from tasty trap on "Paranoid" to bad boy band melodrama on "Let Me Be Sad."
Injecting an element of slick electronica is all well and good, but once you start to sound like Justin Timberlake, you risk alienating both crowds when you switch back to death growling.
