7/05/2013

REVIEW: Like Moths To Flames - An Eye for an Eye


Genre: Metalcore
Label: Rise
Date of Release: July 9, 2013

VEHEMENT METALCORE

Violent, energetic, harsh; These words are some fitting for a band of Ohio quintet Like Moths To Flames's vein. They formed in 2010 from Columbus and released a few singles, up until they got signed to Rise Records (The Plot In You, For The Fallen Dreams). During the same year, they released their debut EP "Sweet Talker," followed by their first full-length album in 2011, "When We Don't Exist." The last record was highly enjoyable for its speed and brutality, so it would be interesting to see what the band would do next. That is where their third full-length "An Eye for an Eye" comes in. This record proves to be just as praiseworthy as the last, but for somewhat different reasons.

The musicianship of this album is displayed very well. The vocals, both screamed and clean, are as aggressive and vigorous as ever. The anger in the unclean vocals is highly prominent, and the energy behind them really carries through during the record's running time. Similar things can be said about the singing, which is just as powerful. Overall, both sides are done nicely. Next, the guitars hold a sleuth of potent and memorable riffs and melodies. They don't seem to be as reliant on chugs as before, even though there is still a good surplus of them, and this makes more elbow room for this type of performance. In the end, the change really works in the band's favor. As for the drums, they play with as much solidity as in the preceding records, and they serve as a brick-hard infrastructure for the rest of the music. All things considered, the instrumentation is performed great here.

As for the sound production, it is carried out great as well. However, there is one flaw in this aspect that is a tad significant. The snare drum does tend to sound a little inconsistent, sometimes sounding solid enough to match the rest of the violence, but at other times sounding quite thin and weak. This ends up taking away from some of the impact that the music is supposed to bring. Thankfully, this is the only real shortcoming of the album as a whole, and aside from that problem, the production still holds up. For the most part, it makes everything sound highly potent and resonant, and it really bears its weight in making the music all the more effective.

Just like before, Like Moths To Flames aims for delivering vicious metalcore. However, this time around, the group seems to be taking a bit of a different angle to this formula. As opposed to being highly abundant on the brutality with chugs and breakdowns, this album balances more between that heaviness and brutality. This is a smart move, because it leads to a more well-rounded sound that delivers just as much energy as the preceding records. On top of that, there is a high amount of gripping moments throughout, and this is helped by how dynamic the music is overall. In fact, the best song off of this tracklist would be "Nothing but Blood," as it's the catchiest one out of them all that best demonstrates this formula. Although the music isn't all that inventive for the metalcore genre, its largest strength is with how powerful it is, and it really makes it all the more great. 

Overall, "An Eye for an Eye" is solid proof that Like Moths To Flames is showing no signs of slowing down in their tracks at all. Even though the production does have that one chink   in terms of percussion and the music is not very innovative, they're just nitpicks in the face of all of the good things the album has to offer. The musicianship is as solid as ever, the mixing is explosive, and, most of all, the metalcore is simply powerful. It's more balanced between melody and brutality than before, and, as stated earlier, that is the main thing that makes the album so pleasurable and engaging. Old fans and newcomers alike are recommended to this record.

Score: 9/10 (Excellent)