Klatzke
12/08/08, 07:35 PM
We Came As Romans - Dreams
Record Label: None
Release Date: December 12, 2008
I wasn't sure I'd ever find one of these synth-core bands that I liked. Anyone that knows me will know that I hadn't really found one that actually interested me until I ran into this EP, Dreams. When We Came As Romans released it, I listened the first couple of times, read the initial press release, and I kind of wrote them off as another generic metalcore band. However, since one of my best friends took a personal interest in the EP and well, he's kind of my idol, I started to give Dreams a closer listen.
So, even after my closer inspection, I've come to the obvious conclusion that Dreams, is, in fact, generic. However, they've nailed the whole synth-metalcore thing harder than any other band to this point, and they should be commended for it. Thus, let the commending commence!
The way We Came As Romans use their synth is probably what sets them apart from the hoards of other bands. They use it fairly tastefully and refrain from total bombardment, instead opting to add a bit of a spark that make the tracks come to life. "Shapes" has a perfect example of this: about 30 seconds in, where the synth kicks up and throws out a sweet beat that brings the track in kicking and screaming. The clean vocals are pulled off with an obvious amount of auto-tune or maybe even a vocoder (I can't seem to tell the difference these days). Because the enhancement is obvious though, it actually is a kind of relief. Instead of the artists trying to pass off their vocals as completely natural, they've made it quite obvious that they're getting some help, and it really doesn't seem so bad. Besides that point, the EP is pretty masterfully done. The screaming is powerful, and the vocalist sounds like the old frontman from Burden of a Day before his replacement earlier this year. I think what really attracts me to this EP, unlike most of their contemporaries is the lack of song structure. I know many people enjoy the whole verse-chorus-verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus structure but it just really doesn't work for me. They may not throw out some of the crazy structuring (or non-structuring) of some bands, but they do mix it up enough that I'm actually entertained.
If you're into this whole synth-core trend, go get this now. If you're not, get it anyways (after all, it's free). I have to say, even though I'm usually not impressed with bands of their type, We Came As Romans has produced a solid EP. You can call them metalcore, fashion-core, synth-core or whatever-core, but they nail pretty much everything and have created what I would consider the first gem of this genre. Dreams is a solid listen and they were gracious enough to give it out free, so if you've yet to check it out, do them a favor and do so now.
Burden of a Day; Attack Attack!; Sky Eats Airplane
myspace.com/wecameasromans (http://www.myspace.com/wecameasromans")
Record Label: None
Release Date: December 12, 2008
I wasn't sure I'd ever find one of these synth-core bands that I liked. Anyone that knows me will know that I hadn't really found one that actually interested me until I ran into this EP, Dreams. When We Came As Romans released it, I listened the first couple of times, read the initial press release, and I kind of wrote them off as another generic metalcore band. However, since one of my best friends took a personal interest in the EP and well, he's kind of my idol, I started to give Dreams a closer listen.
So, even after my closer inspection, I've come to the obvious conclusion that Dreams, is, in fact, generic. However, they've nailed the whole synth-metalcore thing harder than any other band to this point, and they should be commended for it. Thus, let the commending commence!
The way We Came As Romans use their synth is probably what sets them apart from the hoards of other bands. They use it fairly tastefully and refrain from total bombardment, instead opting to add a bit of a spark that make the tracks come to life. "Shapes" has a perfect example of this: about 30 seconds in, where the synth kicks up and throws out a sweet beat that brings the track in kicking and screaming. The clean vocals are pulled off with an obvious amount of auto-tune or maybe even a vocoder (I can't seem to tell the difference these days). Because the enhancement is obvious though, it actually is a kind of relief. Instead of the artists trying to pass off their vocals as completely natural, they've made it quite obvious that they're getting some help, and it really doesn't seem so bad. Besides that point, the EP is pretty masterfully done. The screaming is powerful, and the vocalist sounds like the old frontman from Burden of a Day before his replacement earlier this year. I think what really attracts me to this EP, unlike most of their contemporaries is the lack of song structure. I know many people enjoy the whole verse-chorus-verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus structure but it just really doesn't work for me. They may not throw out some of the crazy structuring (or non-structuring) of some bands, but they do mix it up enough that I'm actually entertained.
If you're into this whole synth-core trend, go get this now. If you're not, get it anyways (after all, it's free). I have to say, even though I'm usually not impressed with bands of their type, We Came As Romans has produced a solid EP. You can call them metalcore, fashion-core, synth-core or whatever-core, but they nail pretty much everything and have created what I would consider the first gem of this genre. Dreams is a solid listen and they were gracious enough to give it out free, so if you've yet to check it out, do them a favor and do so now.
Burden of a Day; Attack Attack!; Sky Eats Airplane
myspace.com/wecameasromans (http://www.myspace.com/wecameasromans")