Genre: Hardcore/Deathcore
Label: Victory
Date of Release: January 22, 2013
VICIOUS HARDCORE JUGGERNAUT
Bands that have released debut records and EPs that are
nothing short of awe-inspiring, such as The HAARP Machine, Raising The Veil,
and Fail Emotions, are definitely uncommon in the metal realm. Continents is
certainly part of this crowd, since for a relatively new band, has shown the
band’s true power with one full-length release. It all started back in 2009,
when the quintet took form in South Wales, United Kingdom. Afterwards, the band
released their debut single in 2011 simply entitled “Trials.” Although it only
was one song, being a digital single, the single alone already made it clear
that Continents had a lot of potential in their wake, teeming with some nice
aggression and brutality from both the hardcore and deathcore genres. Subsequently,
the quintet landed a deal with famous Chicago-based label Victory Records,
current harbor of bands such as Emmure and Jungle Rot. This leads to the band
releasing their debut full-length album in 2013 “Idle Hands.” Boasting twelve
tracks, including the earlier single release, Continents demonstrates how a
band can become a leading group in their own genre with their first
multiple-track album.
The first two great aspects about “Idle Hands” are the
musicianship and the production. Starting off, the vocals, performed by both
the lead singer and guitarist, are raw and aggressive, two qualities that are
essential for hardcore vocals. They express the rage behind some of the lyrical
content, including some notable lines such as “From the bottom of my heart,
fuck you” from “Trials” and “Show us everything, tell us everything, it’s about
time you make us believe” from the title track, incredibly well. In addition,
the guitars, despite being on the more brutal side of the spectrum, do a great
job of balancing between heaviness, atmosphere, and melody. They brandish some
powerful riffs, whether they are brutal chugs or surprisingly uplifting
melodies, defining their own explosive versatility greatly. The drums are also solidly
performed, having great potency in their sound. With all of these elements
being awesomely played out, the musicianship overall is one of the greatest
strengths of this record. Another
praiseworthy aspect of this album is the sound production. The vocals and
instrumentals sound very natural yet crisp in their sound, but the album also
sees the use of some occasional mixing effects, including toggling with the
stereo system and stuttering effects, but they are used moderately to not
overdo that element while increasing emphasis in the band’s sound. Along with
the stellar musicianship, the production is another element of “Idle Hands”
that serves as a plus for this great release.
The majority of “Idle Hands” consists of brutal and potent
mixes of melodic hardcore and heavy deathcore, which Continents does a fine job
of performing. More specifically, the music focuses on reaching between the
fields of melodic hardcore riffs that somewhat touch upon the old-school style
of the genre and the brutal beats and breakdowns of the deathcore genre. Aside
from this nice form of genre diversity, another admirable trait of the music is
that it holds both great explosions backed by great build-up. As opposed to
being breakdown upon breakdown, the band does a splendid job of crafting their
onslaught with powerful breakdowns with gripping riffs and bridges in between. This
way, the album does not suffer from any filler, and the end result is a highly
engaging release that really knows its way around getting its crowd to bang
their heads wildly. Each song teems with violence and hatred, and not one of
them falls flat in terms of both the mood and the formula. The only real
shortcoming that “Idle Hands” faces is that there is nothing that innovative or
totally groundbreaking about the material overall. Therefore, if one is in
search of something inventive in a metal or hardcore album, they sadly won’t
find that much here. However, what makes this album so enjoyable is how well it
represents its own genre of brutal hardcore. All in all, in terms of its fused
heaviness, the album fares greatly in being successful in dynamicity and
investment, making sure every hit it lands leaves bruises.
However, despite the album’s brutality, there is more to
“Idle Hands” than just its heaviness; it also has its fair share of melodic,
anthem-like hardcore moments as well. As stated earlier, there is some
uplifting melody to the music at some points throughout, but this is not just
performed by the guitar work alone; the vocals also play a role in this aspect.
There is only a little clean singing to go around here, but when it takes over
the music, not only does it sound powerful, but it also adds to the anthem-like
hardcore atmosphere the album brings. This thus emphasizes the broad genre
field that this album deals with, stretching from anthem hardcore to vehement
deathcore. Both the vocals and guitars deliver some great melodies when they
shine, making “Idle Hands” both masterful in both the brutal and lighter realms
of metal and hardcore.
With all things considered, “Idle Hands” has proven to be a
very strong release and a well-crafted representation of the modern hardcore
genre. Firstly, the musicianship, backed by some stellar sound production and
mixing, is performed very well, with every musician playing their part seeming
to put a great load of energy into the music. Secondly, the bludgeoning fusion
of anthem hardcore and deathcore is crafted so well in terms of its build-ups,
explosiveness, and gripping nature that it’s rather difficult to listen through
even just one song in the record without moving a muscle. Thirdly, although the
album is mostly composed of this brutal hardcore onslaught, there is still some
melody existing in certain parts of this listen, making way for some nice
diversity that keep its audience highly invested while still flowing well with
the harshness of the rest of the music. As stated earlier, the album overall
isn’t that inventive in bringing anything particularly new or groundbreaking to
its own genre, but even so, this album is done incredibly well on its own, and
metal and hardcore fans that want something to smash furniture or flip over
automobiles to are highly recommended to this fine release. “Idle Hands” is a
violent and powerful hardcore album that has proven to be an immediate step up
in this quintet’s career.
Score: 9/10 (Excellent)
