Your Memorial - Atonement
Rating
RIYL
Misery SignalsCounterparts
It Prevails
Release Date
11/22/2010
Label
Facedown RecordsTracklist
1. Endeavor for Purpose2. Hope Era
3. Desolation
4. Atonement
5. Surface
6. Not Fallen
7. My Path is Set
8. Unseen
9. Surrender
10. Immaculate Design
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Your Memorial is one of the newest additions to Facedown Records, hailing from the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis and St. Paul) of Minnesota and self releasing their debut album, Seasons, a few years ago. After taking some time to tour and write new tunes, the band has returned with their second full length, Atonement, a meaty offering of melodic metalcore akin to the kings themselves – Misery Signals.
It’s easy to go on and on about how Your Memorial is basically a lesser version of Misery Signals, or even Counterparts, and there is merit to that argument, but the band can hold their own in the genre mainly because of the sheer intensity behind the songs. Every track is a mix of brooding guitars, thunderous drumming, and monstrous vocals, with some melody mixed in to break up the audible assault here and there. “Hope Era,” “Atonement,” and “Not Fallen” are all good examples of songs that successfully combine the heavy and melodic sides of the band. Also, “Surface” features some clean singing in the choruses, which really helps give listeners some relief from the screaming. Your Memorial should do more singing in general, not necessarily in every song, but in more than one track since the screaming is so intense.
Atonement feels like it’s missing something, though, and isn't particularly well rounded. With three bare bones instrumentals thrown in, there are really only seven songs on here. Your Memorial had the right idea by incorporating some light instrumentals, but the songs are just flat out boring and offer little benefit except for giving listeners a break from the heavier tracks. A truly great metalcore album has a mix of heavy and softer songs, all of them being fully fleshed out tracks that can stand on their own and that simply isn't accomplished here. Also, take into account that the songs all start to sound the same after awhile, save for a few noteworthy parts, and the initial excitement garnered from the first few tracks quickly starts to fade.
Atonement is solid, but not great, and shows potential for a band that’s fairly new to the scene. This is an above average release that’s sure to appeal to fans of melodic metalcore; however, its lasting appeal is on the short side, at least until a new Misery Signals album comes out.
--Nicholas Fritz
Comments
Minnesota
I really like this album's songs. The interludes are a waste of album space. I agree completely that there's just not enough material here, which seems to be an ongoing problem with most Facedown releases, which seems weird. Nearly every Facedown or Strike First album I listen to is criminally short.
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Minneapolis, MN
Good to see a Minnesota getting reviewed. I have to agree, the one thing that stuck out to me about this album was how much I couldn't differentiate the songs after listening to it a couple of times.
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Coopersburg, PA
I know many times labels add in to their contracts how long each
album needs to be and I would venture to guess that Facedown's clause is
only 30 minutes per album or something like that - if they even have
such a clause.
If they would have substituted the instrumentals for slower and longer melodic songs, this would feel like more of an album.
Canada
very well written review, you pretty much nailed it. all you guys should check out "amia venera landscape - the long procession" phenomenal album that will go under the radar for sure
Coopersburg, PA
Thanks man. That band is pretty sweet, just went to their MySpace, it reminds me of Forever is Forgotten or a mix between The Secret and Misery Signals - I'm going to check out the whole album now.
Canada
its a pretty epic album for an unsigned italian band. my AOTY, too bad i cant select it for the top 10 feature
Coopersburg, PA
Infinitely Inwards
Had this album for a while, not impressed.
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Edmonton, AB
Yeah I wasn't thrilled with this one either. It sounds more like For the Fallen Dreams than Misery Signals. Just kinda plodding, not enough going on to engage me.
London, UK
The amia venera landscape is really good.Personally I could do without the longer ambient passages, but the rest is fantastic. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Kansas
This is growing on me quite a bit.
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