Diecast

This blatant Killswitch Engage worship has got to stop. Enduring the multitudes of wet-behind-the-ears try-hards getting their hopefully brief careers off on the wrong foot is bad enough, but when established acts such as Caliban and forsake the things that made them unique in favour of unabashed bandwagon-hopping, the line must be drawn. The real shame is that there are indications of something far greater here — the songs are tightly written, fairly memorable, and delivered with above average technical precision. Diecast are no amateurs — they are simply selling themselves short. Paul Stoddard’s vocals are a dead ringer for Killswitch’s Howard Jones: the grunts, screeches, and melodic belting — perhaps even equal the quality. Occasionally, some nu-metal influences appear, which makes the band’s already rudimentary pop structures seem even more tepid and commercially motivated. The production is squeaky clean and digestible, ensuring that no errors or potentially abrasive nuances are perceptible to indiscriminate metalcore fans. A talented group that have unfortunately stifled their own abilities with predictability and plagiarism.