Wow, it seems like an age since I've reviewed a new Rise Records release. Still, this one seems a good place to start. Evergreen Terrace seem to have been around for years and years now and I've lost track of how many albums they've released. ET's brand of punk and metal core has been honed in recent times and it's testament to the band, that they've been able to share stages with a wide variety of bands from Rise Against to Agnostic Front since they began in 1999.
Tracklist:-
1. Crows
2. When You're Born In The Gutter, You End Up In The Port
3. Post Satanic Ritual Baby
4. Dead Horses
5. Browbeaters Anonymous
6. It's All Over But The Cryin'
7. Lacuna Inc
8. Mike Myers Never Runs, But He Always Catches Up
9. The Fortunate Ones
10. That Dog'll Hunt
So modern day Evergreen Terrace, what have you got for me. Plenty of melodic guitars and hardcore vocals for a start. Fast tempos from the drums and of course the obligatory breakdowns. The opener Crows immediately shows off ET catchiness, in the chorus. Crows certainly sets things off nicely.
ET aren’t afraid to inject the odd thrash guitar lick into their songs, like on occasions during When You’re Born In The Gutter…, while dramatic guitar during the chorus, coupled with well layered drumming highlights their songwriting skills too. With the title Post Satanic Ritual Baby, they must be poking fun at the “oh so serious” black metal community. Don’t fear though, there isn’t an ice-cold scream in sight and it’s more of a technical metalcore masterpiece with singalong sensibilities. Also as with all Rise Records bands, there is a hint of electronics within the music, which must be written into ban contracts or something!
The title track could be a glam-rock song or something that Blessed By A Broken Heart could have dreamt up. I don’t think ET ever collaborated with Steel Panther, but if they did, this is what it would sound like. Autotune and all. It’s just a good job I’m a sucker for a decent tune. In Browbeaters Anonymous, ET have their mosh sorted. It’s all breakdowns and pure hardcore rage. The thing that sets this song apart from other metalcore/melodic-hardcore bands are the occasional flourishes of musical brilliance that add extra depth to the song. Other bands may just their brootal riffs do the talking, but ET are actual musicians at heart and still haven’t forgotten it. The rad thing about ET is that you don’t have to be a hardened metalcore fan to get into them. The punk element of their music is more than enough to prick your ears up, especially during It’s All Over But The Cryin’. Okay so their not uber extreme, but chances are if you’ve read this far, you’re already a fan so don’t care. At this point, you’ll begin to really notice that the production job is spot on for what ET are trying to achieve.
There is a sense with Lacuna Inc though, that they are trying to do what A Day To Remember have done already, or it could be the other way around. I’m not entirely sure. Either way, by the time the amusingly titled Mike Myers Never Runs, But He Always Catches Up fills the speakers, you’ll have forgotten all about that little misdemeanour. Normally at this point in an album, bands try to slow things down with an acoustic song or an instrumental but ET don’t. There’s some Eastern flair within the intro to The Fortunate Ones and it turns into one hell of an infectious punk song. There’s more dramatic soundscapes courtesy of the guitars and it’s one of the standout songs on Dead Horses for me. Talking of infectious, That Dog’ll Hunt is a fine song to end on. It’s got that shout-from-the-rooftops feel to it during the verses and plenty of singalong oomph. One things for sure, ET have really upped their game with Dead Horses. They’ve kept their hardcore edge and fused it together with melodic punk, to create a slick and hook filled record. Consider me bowled over!
Evergreen Terrace have elected to stream the whole of Dead Horses on Youtube here - http://www.youtube.com/Evergreen_Terrace_Dead_Horses
You can buy Dead Horses digitally, on CD and on vinyl from Rise Records here - http://www.riserecordsstore.com
Evergreen Terrace Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EvergreenTerrace
Rise Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RiseRecords
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