Thursday 4 July 2013

Stay The Course - Innocence/These Walls Demo


I'm delving into my review pile with this one. Warren from Hampshire metalcore band Stay The Course got in touch with me last year to tell me that they'd released a two song single/demo. As I'm focusing on British bands this week, I thought I'd dust this off and give a review. Sorry for the delay guys!

Stay The Course are a relatively new band, having formed in early 2012. This two track demo featuring the songs Innocence and These Walls, makes up the first recorded material for the band. Their main focus for this year has been playing live and they've already notched up gigs alongside the mighty Rolo Tomassi and Bastions!

Tracklist:-

1. Innocence
2. These Walls

To some metalcore is now a dirty word, but as it's the sub-genre that got me to where I am today, I still like it. Calling Stay The Course a metalcore band though is doing them a disservice. Innocence is more of a melodic hardcore song, with clean vocals akin to bands like Alexisonfire and Funeral For A Friend. It's fast and punchy, with driving riffs and drums. This really takes me back to when I was discovering bands by sticking on Rock Sound cover mount CDs. A bit of nostalgia from a band who are developing their sound and who aren't afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves in fine by me.

These Walls is harder hitting that the opener, with a hefty breakdown inspired verse and some great screamed vox. The melodic riffs remind me of early Killswitch, which I know is one of the bands influences. The great thing is that Stay The Course don't just ape their influences. They borrow elements from bands and genres and then they mix it into their own style. It's uncomplicated and likeable, which is what you want from music really.

I really enjoyed these two tracks and I hope that Stay The Course keep going and keep writing. There's no reason why they can't fit into the wider scene. Watch this space and see what they come up with next as they're sure to progress their song-writing and only get better.

Both songs are streaming on the band's Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/StayTheCourseUK.

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