Album Review: Sion - Sion

It's a bit sad when an entire genre gets boiled down to only one band, because having nothing that measures up means everything comes up short, and everything feels disappointing. That's what happened to me when I heard Killswitch Engage's "The End Of Heartache". They so defined the idea of what metalcore was to me that nothing else I heard was ever going to live up to that expectation, other than the two albums that followed from themselves. I've tried here and there to explore what's going on, but the gravity of that era has never let me escape its orbit.

So it was with great excitement that this year not only brought us a new Light The Torch album, but now a full-on return to metalcore from Howard Jones in the form of Sion, a collaboration with YouTube creator Jared Dines. For those of us of the right age, who were listening at the right time, this is a nostalgia bomb of the highest order, even if it is updated with all the modern bells and whistles.

"The Blade" kicks things off in high gear, with Howard roaring over a heavy groove, sounding as good now as ever, both spiting rage and wrapping his melodic voice around the chorus. The music Dines gives him is influenced by Killswitch, but the riffs have evolved from the chugging patterns of the past to something with more technical proficiency to it, even having hints of the deathcore scene poking through. The music demands the vocals we get, and the pieces fit together beautifully.

"Drown" follows by showing us the two aren't playing by any sort of blueprint. This song is softer, more atmospheric, with the heavy groove only bringing harsh vocals in for the bridge. Dines' guitar tone is dark and heavy, but so tight you can feel his pick attacking the strings. He controls the rhythm of the songs, which is exactly the way I like to hear my metal. They made the album independently, but it's one of the best sounding records of the year. The recording and production is spot-on, and puts every hook and riff right in your face with nothing to stop it from punching you in the mouth.

As more of the record unfolds, and we hit songs like "Skyfall", it becomes more clear this record is actually a hybrid of Killswitch Engage and Light The Torch. It takes the heaviness of the former, with more of the radio-leaning melody of the latter, and puts them together into an intoxicating mix that ebbs and flows, sticking and moving as we get beaten into submission. Do the first notes of the chorus of "Skyfall" echo "Bring Life" from all those years ago? They sure do, and that little twist shows us just how faw we have evolved since then. It may have been unintentional, but I find it to be a crucial moment.

When the first Light The Torch album came out, I talked about how it was the natural continuation of Killswitch Engage's 2009 self-titled album, and I loved it for taking us down the more melodic path that was being signaled. I love this Sion album for a similar reason, because this is the album that could have come afterward to 'course correct' and appease those who wanted that band to be heavier again, as well as those of us who wanted them to be even more melodic.

What's clear listening to this album is that Jared Dines is a huge fan of those records, and Howard Jones hasn't lost a step since then. Together, they are reliving the glory days of metalcore, and doing it better than I think anyone could have imagined when this project was announced. I am the perfect audience to get what they were trying to achieve with this album, and for me, it hits the bulls-eye. This is one nostalgia bomb that I have no intention of diffusing.