Similar Bands: Candiria, Cave In, Botch, Despised Icon
Review:
War From A Harlot's Mouth. Upon reading that I ultimately expected the worst. Not even seeing the words Lifeforce Records gave me any hope with this record and after my first journey through the record, the hope was still nowhere to be found. It wasn't until the 2nd time I worked my way through the album did I pick up on all the little pieces I missed the first time. Writing this off as a simple trite metalcore record was a mistake on my part.
In Shoals is the German quintets sophomore release and it has definitely sparked my interest in finding their first record. It's kind of hard to put my finger on what exactly I'd label this band as or even to find a solid comparison since they seem to be a little bit of everything. The foundation of the band is melodic metalcore in nature but at times they will break into a jazz infused interlude that reminds me of something Candiria would mess around with. Mixed into the melody is a serious stack of chug. After listening to the entire record, I don't think the chugginess is there to please the mosh enthusiasts of the world but that's just how they write their music. It's kind of like bands like Burnt By The Sun. Their chug isn't meant for the dancefloor kickboxers but more for you to just break your neck with some momentous headbanging. As if to be the sprinkles on the ice cream or the lemon sprits over your chicken dinner, WFAHM overlaps some interesting post hardcore melodies that immediately triggered thoughts of Cave In's Until Your Heart Stops.
Another interesting factor that played a huge role on me gravitating towards this band is the fact that singer, Nico Webers never strays away and makes a feeble attempt a clean vocals. There are plenty of opportunities that he could have ventured into the realm of annoying but opted not to do so. He has strong vocals that carried throughout the entire record. Deciding to ruin a good thing by singing would have done just that, ruined a good thing.
Seeing all the genres that this band pulls from to create their music seems like a bit much on the surface, but I feel that the band perfectly experiment and blend those sounds together to create something positive. I liken it to something like bands like Botch and Deadguy did. Now WFAHM is not on the level of those two bands but it's the experimentation with sounds to make something all their own similar. I think going into this record with an open mind and really listening to the song structures will actually impress a lot of people. If you don't pay attention to it then you will probably miss some things and write the album off completely, much like I almost did the first time I listened to it.
The only downfall in the entire record comes in the album's epic last track entitled, Scully. While the song isn't total rubbish, it seems that WFAHM may have burned themselves out with the rest of the record that they weren't quite able to hit the mark with their "big" song.
I've read a handful of other reviews on this album and most are giving it not much more than a mediocre rating. I didn't expect to have anything positive to say about this record either. Between the album artwork and the band name, I really expected something bad. It took a little to get into it but now I can't stop putting it into my stereo. This record is making it hard for me to get through the rest of my reviews because I keep interrupting my listens to put this back on. With the exception of the Lazarus AD record (review to come later) I haven't been able to make it through a full CD without putting this back on. The mixture of sounds keeps it interesting and I think it's going to be awhile before I give this some real shelf time.
Your Profile/Options: [
In_Shoals.jpg)
Offline
13 
0 Pics
