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| Album
Review |
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Milton Keynes based 5 piece Heart of a Coward have
at long last dropped their debut full length studio
album “Hope & Hindrance”. Things
could not have worked out better for these lads
because when their old vocalist up and took off
leaving them in perhaps troubled times, they managed
to land in my opinion the finest British metal singer
on the scene today, Jamie Graham. Most famous for
being the ex front man of Reading thrashers Sylosis
up to their “Conclusion of an Age” album;
he had already asserted himself as a confident front
man and more than adequate vocalist, to land him
has boosted the bands press and fan interest by
leaps and bound bringing them to the point they’re
at today.
Having seen the band perform before I already knew
the music was heavy on the bass and full of breakdowns,
I do not class this material as “hardcore”
music though because even though a fair few of the
characteristics are present they take it, whack
some metalcore influences alongside some melodic
vocals and harmonious musical sections they pull
themselves away from the classification or labelling
if you will. Perfect example being one of the song’s
they’ve had on their facebook page for a long
time “Around a Girl (In 80 Days)” which
kicks in with heavy bass and a quick riff but as
soon as Graham’s vocals kick in and the groove
the band exudes in the way the bass and beat combine
would soon have anyone whipping their heads around.
Album opener “Motion” starts us off
with exactly the same style yet with an eerie guitar
tone backing the whole song, less aggressive and
more bouncy in this case as the tempo is nowhere
near as high octane as “Shade” which
is quick, thick and heavy, which is where the “Suffer…
Bitch” t-shirts the band sell comes from.
Alongside all this though you’ve got songs
like “All Eyes to The Sky” that are
for the most part quite light with the vocals, the
musical backing is still heavy but contradicted
at the same time by really sweet sounding chords
and clean interludes. “Break These Chain’s”
and “Only Time Will Tell” are the last
2 tracks on the record and both are possibly the
most dramatic feeling albums with their use of backing
tones and powerful vocal lines, the album started
strong and possibly finished stronger.
For a debut album from a British band who not too
long ago were relatively unknown with no stamp on
the metal scene this is a very impressive achievement!
Not only that but the quality of the music in incredible,
seeing as bands usually mature with age so this
starting point to me is very promising, Jamie’s
vocals are still perfect as well which definitely
makes me biased with my love for the band. All I
can hope for is that they stop going alone with
these pathetically small tours and start doing some
proper supports the way that they’re supposed
to because with one album on the go they do not
yet have the following to live up to these headline
tours.
4/5
Review by James Webb |
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| Band
Members |
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Jamie Graham
Carl Ayers
Steve Haycock
Vishal "V" Khetia
Christopher "Noddy" Mansbridge |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Motion
2. All Eyes to the Sky
3. Around a Girl (In 80 Days)
4. We Stand as One
5. Light
6. Shade
7. Nightmare
8. Hope & Hindrance
9. And Only Time Will Tell
10. Break These Chains |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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