Magnolia Park – Halloween Mixtape II (Epitaph Records)
Less is more, right? It’s a mantra I’ve often referred to in reviews, even if Yngwie would never agree. Nor, so it seems, would Magnolia Park. Seventeen tracks, nine collabs, six hundred and sixty six musical deviations taking in emo, pop-punk, nu-metal, hip-hop, cartoon horror pop and more is testament to the fact that the quintet may be on to something with their embracing of musical diversity.
The late 2000s and early 2010s had a surge of metalcore and melodic metal genres. As the genre reached its peak, there was no shortage of upper-echelon talented vocalists who were the hallmark of the era. Former Of Mice & Men guitarist Shayley Bourget‘s range, control, and warbling vocal vibrato caused his talents to stand out amongst the never-ending horizon of unclean/clean dual-vocalist bands.
A decade back, Heart of a Coward were one of the rising stars in the UK metal scene, having just released their second album Severance. The band were looked on to be the next big thing when it came to metalcore, and when they followed that up with the highly acclaimed Deliverance, these previous assertions felt cemented in. Alongside their peers in Architects, Bury Tomorrow and While She Sleeps, the stage was set for Heart of a Coward to join the ranks part of this leading new class.
Over the past decade, the once-notorious metalcore band, Atreyu have been going through a metamorphosis of sorts. From breakdowns and screams to grand sing-along choruses and arena-rock sounds, the band seems like they’ve set their sights and hearts on a sound dedicated to a bigger space, arenas, and stadiums instead of their frequented small academy slots where the band originally gained fame. This of course has been met with a strong mixture of love and derision from fans and foes alike since the release of their album In Our Wake. With the last album receiving polarising reviews across the board, will the latest of a collection of EP projects, The Moment You Find Your Flame (Spinefarm) allow the band to start winning back audiences and critics alike?
Orbit Culture is making big waves in the contemporary Metal scene. This Swedish quartet started out a decade ago and there is a groundswell of rumblings that they could be one of the next hottest acts in the genre. Their rare and remarkable talent would absolutely deserve such recognition. Even in their earlier years, they went over and above the traditional melodeath elements by supplementing them with more fervid aptitude. Now they are preparing to release their fourth full-length album, Descent (Seek & Strike Records) and these savvy Swedes have taken their dynamically different drive to new heights by creating songs laden with more fortitude and technicalities.Continue reading
Metalcore is a style of music that will likely always have appeal, and always have avid listeners, but few in the genre can land a knockout at the start. Bristol UK metalcore scene newcomers In Fear have wound up and clocked quite the sucker punch to the noses of the dubious and unsuspecting.
The late-2019 worldwide pandemic has once again found itself sandwiched between album releases, and subsequently left its mark on the band members of Crown The Empire (Rise Records). Their fifth full-length album, DOGMA, produced and mixed by Zach Jones (Fever 333, Poorstacy, Scene Queen, Nova Twins), sees a diverse album fueled by angst, crisis, isolation, and resilience. Touring drummer turned band member Jeeves Avalos completes the lineup for this album cycle and offers his creative input, and thus, it is the dawning of a new age for Crown The Empire.
For a band that hasn’t changed their sound much over the course of almost twenty years, Pennsylvania quintet August Burns Red miraculously continues to stay not only relevant but one of the most widely respected acts in modern metal.
Everywhere, Everything (Arising Empire) is the fifth album from Polar, the Hardcore natives of Guildford, Surrey (UK), and is the follow-up to 2019’s Nova. It is a collection of songs written together during the pandemic, and with their current lineup for the first time, which had brought a premature end to their tour with After The Burial, Spiritbox, and Make Them Suffer.
Metalcore has evolved significantly since the early 2000s, with countless bands finding their own creative strategies to embrace the melodic side of the genre without forgetting about its metal roots. Rising up from Marl, Germany, Our Mirage solidify what makes their brand of metalcore special with their somber yet hard-hitting tone as well as their captivating ways of storytelling. Their sophomore album Eclipse (Arising Empire) takes the heavy rock riffing and balances it with atmospheric touches that bring out a certain delicacy amongst the havoc.