The Melodic Metalcore Thread

Amaranthe - "Leave Everything Behind" E.P. (2009)

This was my first focused attempt at an Amaranthe release & was mainly instigated by Andi’s Hall of Judgement entry to have “Leave Everything Behind” removed from The Horde & the Melodic Death Metal subgenre. It has to be said that upon first listen it became immediately obvious as to why I’ve never ventured here before though as the sound that Amaranthe were pushing is an exceptionally poppy one with a couple of the tracks sounding much more like Kelly Clarkson or Demi Levato than At The Gates or Dark Tranquillity. The band take a six-piece configuration including an unprecedented three full-time vocalists which combine uplifting female vocals, alternative/power metal style male vocals & more extreme metalcore screams. It has to be said that the two men must have struggled to know what to do with themselves on stage as they’re not contributing all that regularly when compared with your average front man.

This release is essentially a self-financed demo however you’d never know it from the quality of the production which is easily up to the task of presenting a band that had already nailed down a pretty professional & well-defined sound. I’d describe it as a very poppy take on Melodic Metalcore with a number of influences layered over the top including some clean vocal hooks that remind me of alternative metal bands like Linkin Park, power metal theatrics & symphonics, the technical riff structures of progressive metal & the more rhythmic staccato attack of djent. In truth there’s absolutely no Melodic Death Metal here so that tag would seem to be completely misguided. I’d also suggest that the Trance Metal one is a bit premature too as I don’t hear anything that reminds me of legitimate Trance music. Instead there are just some fairly accessible synthesizer lines employed in more of a supporting capacity which probably isn’t worthy of its own genre tag. Perhaps these elements were accentuated when Amaranthe returned to the studio to re-record these five tracks for their self-titled debut album? I’m not too sure but I think the Trance Metal thing is probably more of a link to the band’s later material than it is a reflection of what you can expect to hear on “Leave Everything Behind”.

One of the reasons I struggled so much on the first couple of listens to this E.P. is that the opening three tracks sound far less mature & are more overtly commercialized than the closing two tracks are in my opinion. As a result it took me a few spins before I became aware of the fact that I actually quite like “Act Of Desperation” & “Director’s Cut”. Early on I’d simply tossed them in with the bubblegum stuff that preceded it & it took a bit of familiarity before I could separate them enough to judge them on their own merit. That’s not to say that the earlier material is awful or anything. It’s just miles away from my taste profile & would likely be closer to that of my six year old daughter in all honesty (That's not a criticism. It's a genuine observation as my daughter loves Babymetal). I have to say that the shredding guitar solos are a real highlight & bring to mind childhood idols of mine like Joe Satriani & Steve Vai, particularly in the excellent use of legato. The weak point of the record is probably the metalcore vocals though as they add an additional layer of immaturity that reeks of a band that’s trying their best to find some sort of street credibility. I honestly think Amaranthe would have been better off limiting themselves to a more streamlined dual vocal attack.

At the end of the day “Leave Everything Behind” was never going to see me reaching for my higher scores or commanding that I investigate Amaranthe’s entire back-catalogue but I would hazard to guess that it more than achieved what the band had set out to do. Unfortunately the heavily commercialized approach that’s pushed down the listeners throat on the first few tracks really does stave off any chance of recovery for me & I’m forced to place the E.P. into the “None Of My Business” category.

For fans of Dead By April, Crossfaith & Blood Stain Child.

3/5

Bleeding Through - "Love Will Kill All" (2018)

I’d heard quite a bit of Californian metalcore outfit Bleeding Through while preparing the monthly The Revolution playlists but had never felt the need to investigate them further upon until this point. Perhaps I’ve been put off by their associations with the more melodic side of the genre or it may be because they simply don’t seem all that likely to appeal to my taste. I’m not too sure but my commitment to the Hall of Judgement & a site with the highest level of accuracy in regard to our genre-tagging has finally brought me face to face with my very first Bleeding Through album & I’m gonna do my best to keep an open mind.

As is very much the norm with the more well-known metalcore acts, “Love Will Kill All” is a really well-produced & executed record with polished & shiny performances from all of the band members. It’s a big, in-your-face collection of short & catchy metal tunes that’s made to appeal to a particular audience. You see, while Bleeding Through certainly integrate various external influences into their sound to good effect, they also showcase all of the signature traits of the metalcore genre at the same time so fans will never find themselves feeling the slightest bit alienated. I wouldn’t describe Bleeding Through as sticking to the conventional metalcore model here but neither would I say that the album is a melodic metalcore release either. It kinda sits in the middle with the band jumping from a straight down the line aggressive tune to a more melodic one with a clean-sung chorus hook quite consistently. If anything I’d probably suggest that the melodic side wins out in the end but a dual tagging is probably the most appropriate result.

The points of difference for “Love Will Kill All” are twofold. On the one hand you have a clear melodic death metal influence with At The Gates seeming to be the obvious point of reference through the driving, up-tempo yet melodic tremolo-picked riffage. Then we also see a clear melodic black metal influence in the use of gothic symphonics & well-executed blast-beats. Cradle of Filth is undoubtedly the source of those sounds. Having never been the biggest Cradle of Filth fan, I have to admit to struggling a bit with the overly melodramatic gothicisms on offer even though they do make for something a little different which is certainly required with a record like this one. The clean choruses on the more melodic tracks remind me quite a bit of Fear Factory so I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that they were somewhat of an inspiration too.

One of the problems here though is the more generic elements of Bleeding Through’s sound as they kinda overshadow their more creative ones. The breakdowns are very much the standard model for metalcore & whenever they pop up I find myself snoozing a bit. The vocals of front man Brandan Schieppati are also terribly common. I mean he sounds EXACTLY like every other metalcore vocalist in America & that’s a big detractor for me personally. There are a couple of really enjoyable tracks here though & they generally occur when Bleeding Through simply release the shackles & go for broke like they do on album highlight “Buried” or the pretty decent “Cold World”. The rest of the album seems to drift into areas of insignificance though I’m afraid, even though there’s nothing particularly terrible here either.

At the end of the day I just don’t think I’m the target audience for a record like “Love Will Kill All”. I'd imagine that it’s exactly what the band were trying to achieve & that it’s disappointed very few of their rabid fanbase but it’s simply not something that would generally appeal to me. In fact, the only reason I’ve even found myself listening to it is to assist Andi with his Hall of Judgement entry to have it removed from The Horde & in that undertaking Andi will be receiving a resounding YES vote from me as (despite the At the Gates influence) there’s absolutely no way that this is a death metal record.

For fans of Unearth, The Agonist & early Shadows Fall.

3/5