Conduit - Life On Repeat

Tracklist:

1. Eyes Wide Shut

2. Sovereign

3. The Road

4. Others

5. Pulled From The Water

6. Interlude

7. Let Your Breath Become Your Sound

8. Outstretched Arms

9. We Were Kings

Midland lads Conduit surfaced in 2009 from varying backgrounds and have been building ever since. Life On Repeat is their debut album and is due for release at the start of June. In their own words they play "progressive, melodic hardcore" and have shared stages with the likes of H2O and Hacktivist, to name a few. They seem like the sort of band who've taken things steady, not allowing themselves time to get complacent. A band who chooses to hone their sound live before writing a full record, usually comes out better in my opinion.

Conduit produces epic melodic hardcore with plenty of clean singing and lung-killing screams, all back up by up-tempo instrumentation. Eyes Wide Shut is an exhilarating start to Life On Repeat, while the sheer volume of the band being enough to focus your attention on them. They’re very much a modern band in that they make use of electronic touches. Sovereign uses said electronics during it’s intro, so they are used sparingly. I have my views on them and their intrusiveness, but that’s not to take anything away from Conduit at all. Life On Repeat is really listenable. The Road contains some great melodies that will bury themselves in your head. There’s equal parts punk and hardcore nestled in the drum rhythms, while the bass and guitars create plenty of noise. At times they venture into introspective territory. The intro to Others being a case in point. They also bare some resemblance to Funeral For A Friend during their more recent, softer albums. Conduit certainly has the musical chops to reach plenty of new fans here. Pulled From The Water shows Conduit at their most epic. The mid-paced song features lyrics that could be sung from the rooftops, while being strangely gentle at the same time. A difficult skill to master. They split the album with an Interlude, which isn’t necessarily needed but leads nicely into Let Your Breath Become Your Sound. At times, the vocals spiral into Swe-death territory towards the end, but that makes for a great listen. They’re at their most accessible on penultimate song Outstretched Arms, which is probably the most catchy and melodic song on the album. Those pesky electronics are back on album closer We Were Kings, but thankfully they’re balanced by gang vocals. Overall, it’s a rousing end to a record which is very much a product of it’s time and it’s makers influences. Conduit are really good and while they’re striving for a more mainstream sound (in hardcore terms), they certainly make a good case for it. Good work.

Life On Repeat isn't streaming online, but there are videos up on Youtube and you can find them via Conduit's website here - http://www.thisisconduit.com

Conduit Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thisisconduit