Mosh metal is a lost art. The fusion of metal and hardcore with the unifying purpose of encouraging moshing was essentially swallowed by srscore, a similar fusion that occurred when nu metalcore kids discovered tru hardcore, as emotion was elevated to equally important to mindless moshing.
Considering 2014 brought back metalcore in a big way (Old Wounds, Hollow Earth, Code Orange), who's to say 2015 couldn't revive mosh metal? We've already been gifted an unreleased xAFBx EP, and now this new Lifeless album, Dream, which is a little bit more breakdown than beatdown.
The band still have No Love For the World; pessimistic poetry permeates their new album, but the presentation is a bit less one-dimensionally thuggish this time. That's not to say Dream is any less heavy, but it's certainly less mind-numbingly so. The addition of half-yelled singing — think Brutality Will Prevail's previous vocalist with a little less confidence and control — diversifies things: it's all swings and misses until it really connects. "Empty" and "Scars and Holes" are strikes one and two, but "Broken Home" is a home run, with guest vocals by Twitching Tongues' Colin Young stripping any gruffness away in favour of operatically gothic singing.
Dream is at its best when the band experiment with the instruments rather than the vocals. Though they wouldn't have gotten this metallic in the past, the xBISHOPx sound works well here, especially on "Stubborn and Stupid," "Ladders" and the record's opening two songs.
(Fast Break! Records)Considering 2014 brought back metalcore in a big way (Old Wounds, Hollow Earth, Code Orange), who's to say 2015 couldn't revive mosh metal? We've already been gifted an unreleased xAFBx EP, and now this new Lifeless album, Dream, which is a little bit more breakdown than beatdown.
The band still have No Love For the World; pessimistic poetry permeates their new album, but the presentation is a bit less one-dimensionally thuggish this time. That's not to say Dream is any less heavy, but it's certainly less mind-numbingly so. The addition of half-yelled singing — think Brutality Will Prevail's previous vocalist with a little less confidence and control — diversifies things: it's all swings and misses until it really connects. "Empty" and "Scars and Holes" are strikes one and two, but "Broken Home" is a home run, with guest vocals by Twitching Tongues' Colin Young stripping any gruffness away in favour of operatically gothic singing.
Dream is at its best when the band experiment with the instruments rather than the vocals. Though they wouldn't have gotten this metallic in the past, the xBISHOPx sound works well here, especially on "Stubborn and Stupid," "Ladders" and the record's opening two songs.