Bleeding Through - Declaration
Rating
RIYL
36 CrazyfistsIn Flames
Misery Signals
Throwdown
Release Date
09/30/2008
Label
TrustkillTracklist
1. Finnis Fatalis Spei2. Declaration
3. Orange County Blonde and Blue
4. Germany
5. There Was a Flood
6. French Inquisition
7. Reborn From Isolation
8. Death Anxiety
9. The Loving Memory of England
10. Beneath the Grey
11. Seller's Market
12. Sister Charlatan
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When you think of the best bands in metalcore these days, Bleeding Through does not exactly rush into your head. Critics on webzines, blogs and the like tend to favor more fashionable, technical outfits such as As I Lay Dying and The Dillinger Escape Plan. While Declaration might be an album that creeps under the radar; it has nice subtle touches without excessive screaming with a touch of creativity.
The new eight string guitars are just one of these subtleties. The fret exploration of guitarists Brian Leppke and Jona Weinhofen is striking as a result. The riffs are unpredictable and take advantage of the greater amount of sounds at their fingers. It is great to hear a metal album devoid of the boring guitar work which just sounds like it is trying to blow the listener's head off (See Job For A Cowboy and Whitechapel). The other cool element to the album is the keyboards. The dual keyboard and guitar solo in “French Inquisition” is a real rewind moment. Some of the better keyboard parts from Marta Peterson resemble more recent works of Between The Buried And Me. The keyboards and softer vocals create a black metal vibe over the album.
One thing Bleeding Through have always done really well is the grisly, brutal intros. The band is really straight to the point at times with their heavier parts. “Finis Fatalis Spei” would not sound out of place in a Max Richter album if it were not for the somewhat over the top keys. The tense strings are then held out to the infamous line from Dilios in 300, “For tonight, we dine in hell!” “Declaration (You Can't Destroy What You Can Not Replace)” now kicks off like a boxer hitting you in the face, with Schieppati's relentless vocal assault and Ryan Wombacher's cymbal heavy drums. The same keys from the intro are replayed as the album fades to a climax as well, which adds a lot of character and even a sense of narrative to the album.
The keys and grim mood create quite an epic feel to Declaration. “Sister Charalatan” is the best showing of this. The softer melodies in this song create such a murky and black atmosphere. Schieppati's clean vocals feature utterly beautiful production. The opening parts of the song sound absolutely massive. The technique of one guitar playing on its own before the harmonising guitar and other instruments come in sounds great too. This also gets the music sounding a lot heavier once the whole band is playing. The great thing about this is that it just sounds like Bleeding Through and no other band. The hefty guitar chords in the breakdown are met with the only clean piano parts on the album with no other effects. This might sound a little odd at first, but makes for a really diverse sound. It also creates the clever effect of sounding both beautiful and viscous at the same time.
The black metal esque strings and keys may not be for everyone, plus the common “I hate you” Get the fuck out of my liiiiife!” theme in the lyrics is a little cringe worthy at times. However, the gloomy ambience coupled with sheer aggression in Declaration is really unique. Bleeding Through's music stands alone as it is not always driven only by its metalcore riffs, which is a positive as the riffs are not always that memorable in the first place. This album throws a few new ideas into the mixer and will definitely still be worth listening in upcoming months.
Comments
Toronto
Infinitely Inwards
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
The Mars Volta - Noqtourniqet
Aborted - Global Flatline
Spawn of Possession - Incurso
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
Toronto
Reading/Portsmouth, Eng
Dubuque
Facebook / MySpace
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Los Angeles
This statement is just arrogant. Why?
I mean, your standard for metalcore can't be too high.. you have recent plays from Haste the Day, so I mean, come on.
Toronto
I had to review it. Haste the Day sucks.
Los Angeles
Fair enough, you're in the clear.
Can you see my point though? I was like... uh, dude, you like Haste the Day, the most watered down "metalcore" in history.
Well.. I'm done.
Lakewood, OH
http://www.last.fm/user/nicklovesohio