Klatzke
01/19/09, 09:08 AM
Inhale/Exhale - I Swear...
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Record Label: Solid State Records
I can't explain my motivation for writing these reviews. I know that it spawns from quite a bit of boredom to begin with, but I'm not sure what it is that attracts me to these albums. Maybe it's just a general feeling that by writing these reviews, I'll somehow be helping the bands that I find have released solid albums. Thus, just as with all the others, enters Inhale/Exhale and their sophomore album, I Swear...
I Swear... is actually a pretty bountiful leap forward for Inhale/Exhale. They've moved from the oh-so-generic metalcore-with-clean-chorus sound of The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred to a sound that, though still somewhat generic, at least has a personal flair of their own. I Swear... is the epitome of a sludgy, southern metalcore album. Everything from the harsh vocals to the mucky instrumentation embodies this fact, and the clean vocals just shine even more in this harsh enviroment. The clean vocals are a definite highlight, and while the somewhat generic growls can get old, the singing is extremely impressive for this type of album. The musicianship is impressive as well, and while they're not exactly pushing the envelope, overall they have an extremely tight and cohesive sound.
This is probably the number one overlooked metalcore album from 2008, and there's a simple reason why. On the first few listens, it's really not accessible. It took me quite awhile to get into I Swear..., simply because it's not the played out and extremely generic metalcore that every metalcore band is squeezing out. It's not catchy, and they don't have the soaring choruses or bone-crushing breakdowns that I've come to expect from this genre. Once you're akin to their style, however, the album has a way of sticking with you (enough that I'm talking about it in 2009). Underneath the layers of aggression and howling vocals, you find the truly captivating moments of the album, such as the standout "It's Myself vs. Being A Man" which sports an excellent sung intro and chorus, as well as the raunchy bassline in "I Needed A Spaceship (Instead I Got Problems)." "Fluvanna" is also a pretty great track, and it combines the pure aggression with some interesting musicianship to stand a cut above the rest of the latter half of the album. "Knowledge = Priceless" is you're standard predominantly sung track, and it ends up being a great song, if only because of the aforementioned great singing, leaving the album on an uplifting note.
The lyrics in most tracks are even well developed, and in a lot of places are actually fairly impressive. They're not crafted metaphors, but instead they tend to be straightforward proclamations. For example, the lyrics from the aforementioned "Fluvanna" read: "Find me somebody who sees the world as they should. Give yourself a chance instead of giving up. Depart from your words. Depart from your lies...I took what you said to heart. Believe me I do. Spare me just this once, from hearing you flap your lip. Are you a man, someone they call a saint? Oh God! A child with this mouth, where will it end? Depart from your words. Depart from your lies." As I said, they're not sculpted and grand metaphors, but they speak to a point, which is more than can be said for a variety of other bands.
I Swear... is a solid metalcore album. While still not groundbreaking, it strays a bit from the standard fare, and if you're into the whole southern metalcore thing you'll dig this album. They bring pretty much every aspect of their sound together to make an album that can stand on it's own, and make a definite bound forward from their debut. I could make the obvious play on the album's title about now, but I'd like to think I'm not quite that cliche.
He Is Legend's Suck Out the Poison; The Hottness; In Fear and Faith
http://www.myspace.com/inhaleexhale
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Record Label: Solid State Records
I can't explain my motivation for writing these reviews. I know that it spawns from quite a bit of boredom to begin with, but I'm not sure what it is that attracts me to these albums. Maybe it's just a general feeling that by writing these reviews, I'll somehow be helping the bands that I find have released solid albums. Thus, just as with all the others, enters Inhale/Exhale and their sophomore album, I Swear...
I Swear... is actually a pretty bountiful leap forward for Inhale/Exhale. They've moved from the oh-so-generic metalcore-with-clean-chorus sound of The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred to a sound that, though still somewhat generic, at least has a personal flair of their own. I Swear... is the epitome of a sludgy, southern metalcore album. Everything from the harsh vocals to the mucky instrumentation embodies this fact, and the clean vocals just shine even more in this harsh enviroment. The clean vocals are a definite highlight, and while the somewhat generic growls can get old, the singing is extremely impressive for this type of album. The musicianship is impressive as well, and while they're not exactly pushing the envelope, overall they have an extremely tight and cohesive sound.
This is probably the number one overlooked metalcore album from 2008, and there's a simple reason why. On the first few listens, it's really not accessible. It took me quite awhile to get into I Swear..., simply because it's not the played out and extremely generic metalcore that every metalcore band is squeezing out. It's not catchy, and they don't have the soaring choruses or bone-crushing breakdowns that I've come to expect from this genre. Once you're akin to their style, however, the album has a way of sticking with you (enough that I'm talking about it in 2009). Underneath the layers of aggression and howling vocals, you find the truly captivating moments of the album, such as the standout "It's Myself vs. Being A Man" which sports an excellent sung intro and chorus, as well as the raunchy bassline in "I Needed A Spaceship (Instead I Got Problems)." "Fluvanna" is also a pretty great track, and it combines the pure aggression with some interesting musicianship to stand a cut above the rest of the latter half of the album. "Knowledge = Priceless" is you're standard predominantly sung track, and it ends up being a great song, if only because of the aforementioned great singing, leaving the album on an uplifting note.
The lyrics in most tracks are even well developed, and in a lot of places are actually fairly impressive. They're not crafted metaphors, but instead they tend to be straightforward proclamations. For example, the lyrics from the aforementioned "Fluvanna" read: "Find me somebody who sees the world as they should. Give yourself a chance instead of giving up. Depart from your words. Depart from your lies...I took what you said to heart. Believe me I do. Spare me just this once, from hearing you flap your lip. Are you a man, someone they call a saint? Oh God! A child with this mouth, where will it end? Depart from your words. Depart from your lies." As I said, they're not sculpted and grand metaphors, but they speak to a point, which is more than can be said for a variety of other bands.
I Swear... is a solid metalcore album. While still not groundbreaking, it strays a bit from the standard fare, and if you're into the whole southern metalcore thing you'll dig this album. They bring pretty much every aspect of their sound together to make an album that can stand on it's own, and make a definite bound forward from their debut. I could make the obvious play on the album's title about now, but I'd like to think I'm not quite that cliche.
He Is Legend's Suck Out the Poison; The Hottness; In Fear and Faith
http://www.myspace.com/inhaleexhale