I avoided this one for awhile, because well, truth be told I haven’t really dug on any new metalcore in quite some time, and all the albums I actually wanted to check out, with expectations and everything, failed me. So here we have this fresh band from the UK, The Eyes of a Traitor (TEOAT from here on) and their debut full length, A Clear Perception, sitting on my desk, staring me down shouting “you’ll have to do it sometime you prick!”, and of course I’m dreading having to sit through it. To make matters worse, the looks of these guys suggests emo hipsters, or something of the like. But much to my surprise, it wasn’t nearly as horrendous as expected. Don’t get me wrong here – A Clear Perception didn’t blow me away, nor does it reinvent the wheel in terms of metalcore, but they certainly put forth a solid effort to try to do something a little different of the norm.

Traces of Gothenburg inspired melody are littered all over the album, but are really never the primary focus. Instead, they mostly use a chugging, jagged riffing style that’s a little more in line with hardcore, then at times intersperse bits of melody in between (“Like Clockwork”). They’re not afraid to mix it up though. They incorporate some arpeggios (“With Different Eyes”, “Echoes”), fantastic solo work (“Escape These Walls”, “Misconceptions”, “Echoes”), or blast beats (“The Impact of Two Hearts”) instead of breakdowns. Vocally, Jack Delany mixes it up somewhat too, diving into death metal territory with some deeper growls (“Hands of Time”), non whiny clean vocals (“Under Siege”) on top of the standard hardcore shouts typical of the style.

In the end though, A Clear Perception is still a metalcore album, and the genre is flat out tired. As I said before, TEOAT should be commended for trying something a little different, and I’d recommend all those who still hold interest in the genre to check them out as there’s surely something here of interest for you. As for myself and others, I suppose that the genre has just completely run its course with me, as I just couldn’t get into this, or anything else that’s come out lately, and I’d imagine that it’s the same for many others.

[Visit the band's website]

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