Album Review: Absence Of Despair - Desolate

Did I miss the memo saying that this decade was going to wrap up by flashing back to the glory days of metalcore? I must have, since I have seen more of it flashing by than I recall in previous years, and some of it is darn good, to boot. All That Remains impressed my last year, while Killswitch Engage's recent album has grown on me a lot, and Any Given Day's "Overpower" is still one of the best albums of the entire year. I don't know what's gotten into the water, or whatever trendy energy drink metal musicians consume, but it's a bit weird for the genre to be going so strong right now.

Absence Of Despair are newcomers to my attention, which doesn't really say anything about their stature, since I don't actually follow the scene, other than the unavoidable bigger names. But when I'm given the promise of hard-hitting grooves, and addictive hooks, I'm usually willing to see whether there's any meat on that bone.

The answer to that question is... not really.

The band is trying, but something is missing. They get the heavier part of the metalcore equation with ease. The crushing metal half is exactly that, a blend of metalcore and hardcore that is fiery and aggressive, although I don't think it has nearly as much groove as I was told. Instrumentally, they fall on the less melodic side of the genre, but that's ok. There's still enough power there to be pretty good.

Vocally, things suffer. The harsh vocals are a combination of death growls and higher-pitched screams, neither of which settles into a nice pocket. There isn't enough consistency from song to song in how the delivery is going to work, so it's hard to nail the band's identity. But the biggest drawback is when we get to the choruses. That's the part that wins me over, when metalcore is great. These hooks, despite the advertising, are not addictive at all. In fact, they're barely hooks. The choruses never feel bigger, or brighter, or any more melodic than the verses. That's a big problem.

Metalcore is the balance of heavy and melodic, angry and emotional. This record, with its darker focus, doesn't find that balance at all. It's a bit like watching a toddler and a teenager playing on a teeter-totter on the playground. One side is going to be left very disappointed. Sure, "Fearless" is a good track, and probably the best one here, but even so it wouldn't be a great track on a great metalcore record.

The impression I get from this record is one that comes up a lot these days; that these guys grew up listening to metalcore, so all their influences are various metalcore bands, recycled and regurgitated. The original wave had all sorts of influences, many of them far more mainstream and melodic. Listening to this, I can't see where these guys would have ever been fans of Dio or Iron Maiden. That's a big drawback, since it limits the scope incredibly narrow.

"Desolate" is a release of energy, but that's about it.