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Looks like Each Breath Haunted is Ferret’s annual token good release. This isn’t to say it’s incredible, but this New Jersey hardcore band are definitely playing their music for all the right reasons. Sounding more like a Deathwish band than a trend-following, black hair-dyed, Soundscan-obsessing band with two publicists and a lawyer, the Banner play fairly straight up hardcore with metallic overtones. Great production makes this one stand out, as do the excellent tormented vocals. The band use melody and a feel of epic grandeur mixed in with the more simple hardcore sounds to give the impression that something important is happening here. Whether that’s an impression or the truth, who knows, but it sounds good. The main complaint would be those useless atmospheric interludes, which don’t actually create any atmosphere except for one of impatience. Nothing new, but there can never be enough bands like this and it’s good to see labels still care about stuff with limited commercial appeal. I mean, these guys probably don’t even have more than a handful of target markets! As a postscript, I just looked at a picture of these guys — big mistake. I wonder where they got their eyeliner — Atreyu’s image consultant?