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