The first line screamed on the new Heart Of A Coward album? “We won't be stopped.” And they’re right. The band received ridiculous, and deserved, amounts of acclaim for their debut album, 'Hope And Hindrance', last year, and they’ve lived up to the hype in a big way with its follow-up.
With the album’s opener, Monstro, they set their stall out early. Like the musical embodiment of Hulk Hogan's biceps, Heart Of A Coward set about pummelling listeners' ears until nothing is left but bloody stumps. The unapologetically heavy racket of lead single Deadweight wouldn't be out of place at a Hatebreed gig, with the glorious war-cry of 'I don't give a fuck!' already proving to be a winner in the live arena.
But this isn't just your bog-standard hardcore album. The dizzying fretwork of guitarists Carl Ayers and Steve Haycock on Nauseam and the monolithic title track continues to bring the progressive edge heard on 'Hope And Hindrance', proving that they aren't ones to be put in a box.
Packing more traditional song structures than their first album but still maintaining the maddeningly complex nuances, 'Severance' is the sound of a band who have already discovered their niche.
It's too clever to be a hardcore album and too brutally aggressive to be classed as a progressive album - when did you last hear a Pelican or Dream Theater album with breakdowns in it?
This is a gritty, balls-to-the-wall record, spearheaded by half man/half monster Jamie Graham. He always seems a lovely chap in interviews and the like, but you wouldn't guess it from his performance on 'Severance'. His vocals are viscerally terrifying throughout, the roar at the end of Deadweight sounding like he's just had a Slim Jim stuck down his larynx.
It's not all bellowing and screaming that your nan would hate though, and Desensitise and Mirrors showcase Graham's superb clean vocals during their respective choruses. Accompanying the down-tuned, apocalyptic soundtrack of his band, he exhumes a cacophony of sorrow – imagine Chino Moreno singing at a funeral. That's it. Miserable, isn't it?
'Severance' is a compact, blinding metal album and there’s no reason to mention the dirty 'djent' word. The guitar tone you use does not define the genre you belong to, and this band is very keen to smash any preconceptions naysayers may have about them. This is a metal album for a new generation, and a landmark release for a band so early in their career. 'Severance' is how to do metal in 2013, ladies and gentlemen. Heart Of A Coward won't be stopped.
Mon November 11th 2013 - BIRMINGHAM Asylum
Tue November 12th 2013 - SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Wed November 13th 2013 - CARDIFF Full Moon
Thu November 14th 2013 - LONDON Barfly, Camden
Sat November 16th 2013 - SHEFFIELD Corporation
Sun November 17th 2013 - MANCHESTER Alter Ego
Mon November 18th 2013 - GLASGOW Classic Grand
Tue November 19th 2013 - LEEDS Cockpit 3
Wed November 20th 2013 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Thu November 21st 2013 - NORWICH Waterfront
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