Counterparts - Prophets - Review

Southern Ontario has in the past few years been overflowing enough new under-twenty metal/hardcore projects to make you sick and give up the genre altogether. But that’s only because so many of them are mediocre and too few of them are original. Counterparts, one of said bands, is making a valiant attempt at shining through the dozens of others trying to make a name for themselves.

Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Counterparts has swept the local music scene with perhaps one of the most professional and competent metalcore compositions Ontario has seen. This could be due to their constant deliverance of captivating and high-energy performances that keep the fans coming back for more. The unanimous support they have gathered from local bands and audiences alike has allowed them to continuously play high-profile local shows, this causing them to grow in popularity and respect faster than most other fledgling groups. And now their undeniable talent and magnetism has won them the release of their debut album, “Prophets”. It is being released through Oakville, Ontario based label Verona Records (manned by Silverstein’s Shane Told).

The album opens with a demonstration of Ryan Juntilla’s drumming skills. Finally, an opening track that isn’t some useless ambient snooze fest! This one actually sets the stage for the next track. It plays for a little over a minute, in true hardcore style. The opening track really expresses the whole sound of the album in a compact little track. Fast and short, but still dominated by a breakdown to boil your blood a little. The vocals of Brendan Murphy follow the hardcore style as well, so all you turned off by the traditional yell-heavy scream are warned now. However, for some of you the stellar instrumentals should keep you interested.

Heart stopping breakdowns and bright, melodic riffs are staggered and mixed enough to keep each song interesting, but there are seldom any transitions between them. That factor can sometimes break apart a high energy build up gained from a brutal section by quickly jumping down to a sweet tweedling session. In songs like ‘The Sanctuary’, where the overall sound is bright and encouraging, the soothing guitars and simple, relaxed drumming is welcome. This kind of track just gives you a good feeling on the inside. Someone nearby may be in for a hug, but I don’t know. I’m just speculating. But then in other tracks like ‘Goodbye, Megaton’, where for the first minute and a half you could be headbanging to a very heavy musical disposition, you are forced to stop and sit through a flowery interlude before switching back to breakdown stance. I would only have stretched out the transitions between such stark differences a little more.

The sound that Counterparts delivers does build up a lot of self-confidence within the listener. In the title track, they continue to shift between fast, encouraging tunes, accompanied by very pleasant clean vocals from guitarist Alex Re and high energy breakdowns to solidify the good feelings brewing in your ears. They end off the track with a mix of the two: amazing breakdown with heartfelt guitars following along.

This formula is continued in ‘A Plea: A Promise’ and ‘Dark Ages’. They have no problem injecting brutality into each song at random intervals, but few of the breakdowns seem to follow through long enough to count. There are a lot of mini breakdowns that start and get you pumped up, but then fall back down to hardcore punk beats again way too fast. ‘Only Anchors’ did manage to satiate my lust enough to give me goosebumps. It helped that they built it up with appropriate anticipation with “Only anchors can keep me from moving forward”. I think Counterparts wants their listeners to feel as good listening as the band members do playing these songs.

‘Sturdy Wings’ is probably the best track on the album. It showcases everything that Counterparts is capable of. Driving hardcore beats, beautiful melodic guitars courtesy of Alex Re and Jesse Doreen, at least one intense breakdown, and an ending so majestic and uplifting that it made me grin and chant along “This is where I belong, this is where we belong”. Personally, if they would have ended the album with that track, I would have been satisfied. But with a sugary introduction to their concluding track ‘Digression’, they end off on one last fist pumping, build up song. ‘Prophets’ ends on a happy note. The emotion of the band bursts out in the second half of their last track.

Musically, this album in a gem among all the other bands that are playing the exact same thing, but not as well. It’s a brutally short album though, which fetches a problem for me. I found myself starting it over several times before its prime. However, it is in my nature to forgive this of debut albums. The rest of it is just so good I would have liked to hear more.

Following their “Prophets” release show in hometown Hamilton, Counterparts will be taking a short tour around the east coast and back again with Halifax experimental metal band A Sight For Sewn Eyes. They’re not going very far, but far enough to get the word out. Give their album a listen and if you dig it go check them out live at one of the several Ontario shows that they’re playing in the next month. There’s a good chance they’ll be expanding once a wider audience starts to hear them.

If you’re a fan of high quality hardcore/metalcore like It Prevails, For the Fallen Dreams or Gwen Stacy, I think Counterparts would rub you the right way. It’s good to hear real talent come out of your own area. It sparks hope in the hearts of all the other ambitious young bands giving it their best shot. “Prophets” is definitely a notable album not only in the Southern Ontario scene, but within the entire modern metal/hardcore genre. I’m giving their debut album ‘Prophets’ 3.5 out of 5 napkins.

Artist: Counterparts
Album: Prophets
Release: February 26, 2010
Label: Verona Records
Length: 31:14
Rating: 3.5/5

Living Sacrifice - The Infinite Order - Review

Can any of you remember the early 90s? Well if you do, you might have been around when 80s thrash and hair metal was ending its “majestic” reign. Bands like Stryper and Whitecross were in their prime. But a new kind of Christian metal was venturing onto the stage, and its name was Living Sacrifice. Finally someone had the spine to try something heavier than the hair metal that was so popular. In their beginnings, the band played a dirtier, thrash-type death metal with vocalist Darren Johnson as their front man. By 1997 however, with the exchange of Johnson for Bruce Fitzhugh on vocals, LS metamorphosed into the groove metal/metalcore powerhouse we all know them as today. This was a pivotal changing point in their career, and they kept that style right up until their temporary dispersal in 2002.

Now, eight years later, they’re back at full throttle with their newest recording, ‘The Infinite Order’. There seems to be a trend in new albums released after long breaks from a band being very subpar. But I can tell you one thing, it does not disappoint.

A thunderous opening awaits you with the opening track, ‘Overkill Exposure’. An initial ear catching guitar riff hooks you in for the remaining blast beats and breakdowns. The first of the album’s breakdowns is slightly uncreative, but nevertheless this track prepares you thoroughly for the impending force of the album. What amazed me from the beginning is the retention of their classic sound. The only change I can hear is improvement.

By ‘Rules of Engagement’, Bruce Fitzhugh’s unforgettable vocal rhythm is dug up from the memories of old LS. This track is fueled by a very catchy guitar riff that is followed by a chorus reminiscent of Lamb of God’s ‘Redneck’, only sped up. Then with another style swing, it moves into a bridge that could easily be mistaken for Becoming the Archetype. With this album, LS has certainly grasped the current American metal flavour. At the same time, they retain their old sound quite beautifully with the dirty guitar sound of ‘Neitzsche’s Madness’ in its opening. As it becomes heavier in its breakdown-like chorus, it pounds into an entertaining percussion interlude. Without the return of Matt Putman in the band’s reassembly, the additional percussion that LS boasted in previous albums ‘The Hammering Process’ and ‘Conceived in Fire’ was not present in ‘The Infinite Order’. However, for the sake of old traditions, added percussion was still included on two tracks.

With the first of several guitar solos to melt your face on this album, you will see that guitarist Rocky Gray exercises his shredding skills with further exuberance than in previous efforts. In songs like ‘Unfit To Live’ and ‘They Were One’, it is easy to get swept up into the pounding, marching beat that LS has always injected into most of their songs. However, it is apparent that the driving beat is one of the only things keeping these tracks alive.

This is the only point that I was slightly disappointed, but my enthusiasm was quickly revamped. The beginning of ‘The Training’ made me smile big, remembering songs like ‘Flatline’ and ‘Burn the End’ and other songs that imposed anxiety for the oncoming attack on ‘The Hammering Process’. I got chills when the second guitarist joined the rhythm in the buildup. From this track onward, some more diversity is displayed on the new album, first with eerie clean vocals in the chorus and a courtesy interlude near the end to give listeners a chance to pick up their jaws off the floor.

Once you’re ready, buckle up, because ‘Organized Lie’ is going to hit you like a semi through a smart car. First your head will bang, and then the breakdown will crunch your stomach. Then you’ll feel like an idiot when the drummer changes his snare to the offbeat and your head bangs at the wrong time. This is pleasantly unexpected, but you will get no chance to argue at any point. Between the insane guitar solo and the baying gang scream in the chorus, “random, organized lie”, you’ll be drooling with an eargasm.

‘The Reckoning’ borrows a Demon Hunter-esque driving theme. The groove metal side of their sound is apparent in tracks like this and ‘Love Forgives’. The latter has such simple yet seducing chords that ask for nothing less than your full attention. I found myself quite immersed in this song, closing my eyes and humming along with the guitars. While still retaining its brutal persona, LS is demonstrating a very professional level of musical range across these later tracks. ‘God Is My Home’ welcomes a light tweedling guitar accompaniment to its pounding vocals and low, growling rhythm guitars. These altogether stew up a very ear catching melody that strays from LS’s usual forte of grungy death metal, while still successfully holding your attention for nearly five whole minutes.

At this point, Living Sacrifice’s latest and greatest, post-reassembly, debut album is about ready to wind down. Ease into your seat and relax while an acoustic lullaby rocks you into a state of comfort, then nut up for one last epic throwdown with the final track, ‘Apostasy’. As far as album endings go, it’s hard to explain what’s required. There needs to be a sense of closure and respect that the album is over. That at least, there definitely is.

‘The Infinite Order’ holds true to LS’s own classic style, but fills in the gaps with the current progressive metal styles like Demon Hunter, Devil Driver, Lamb of God, or even Becoming the Archetype. The lyrics were very well written as well. In a progressive nature, they speak of a dying world engulfed in sin. But in tracks like ‘Love Forgives’ and ‘God Is My Home’, the mood is turned around to address the option of God’s redeeming love, as it is unfailing even in the midst of sin. ‘Apostasy’ finishes it off by turning away the misdirection of people who think that hope is lost. The words encourage those who have turned away from God to question their decision. “Love is present, grace abounds. What happened here? Was the world so enticing? Denial is treachery hard to reconcile.”

The strength and intensity that LS built up from the beginning of the album is successfully abused and then fully broken down within the containment of eleven tracks. And after sitting through ‘The Infinite Order’ in full, I am satisfied with what I heard. I give it 4 out of 5 Napkins. Now give me a glass of milk and I’ll be on my way. I’m all tuckered out.

Artist: Living Sacrifice
Album: The Infinite Order
Release: January 26, 2010
Label: Solid State
Length: 46:57
Rating: 4/5