Tonight is Glory

I didn't think the youth were still forming nu-metalcore bands like Tonight is Glory, but I can certainly admit to being mistaken. The young El Paso quintet churn out pop metal melodies and double-bass-addled mosh parts; I imagine Underoath are considered a classic band to these gents. However, the album starts with a slower pulse than expected, allowing the first few screams to be stretched out in impressive agony. This pulls back into jarring hard rock melodies, with chugging guitar sections interspersed with tuneless clean harmonies. The one cruel mistake in the track list is "Your Eyes to the Skies," a drippy, piano-based ballad wimpy enough to make even Dashboard Confessional fans cringe. Perhaps the band could take a cue from their El Paso post-hardcore forefathers, At the Drive-In, for ways to combine aggression and sensitivity without resorting to lazy pop gimmicks.