Road To Manila

Waiting For Goddeau EP

Written by: AP on 26/12/2011 19:30:01

Originally founded in 2007, Road to Manila recently underwent a major transformation from one of the leading Danish deathcore acts to a metalcore / post-hardcore hybrid in the vein of Architects, While She Sleeps and - closer to home - Shaped Like Swans. "Waiting for Goddeau" is the band's first EP with the current line-up and style configuration, and it is a clear step in the right direction if Road to Manila hope to have a stake in foreign markets.

Deathcore is a dying breed, and although elements from the band's past still linger, particularly in "Weigh One's Actions", it is the incorporation of jagged riffs and lingering melodies that sets the tone for the three songs on the EP. But while songs one and two, "Of Importance" and the title track respectively, showcase tremendous promise, much work is still needed before Road to Manila should be considered a serious contestant against well-established international acts in the genre. True there are moments, such as the tangled dissonance in the beginning of "Of Importance" and the embellished outro of "Weigh One's Actions", that a frighteningly effective even in an international context, but not until remnants of the band's past are completely phased out will Road to Manila be able to cash out the full extent of their potential.

The near one-minute discordant breakdown that concludes "Of Importance", not to mention another one haphazardly and inexplicably placed in the midst of a promising mathematic construct in the vein of Architects circa "Hollow Crown" in "Weigh One's Actions", are symptoms of a wider problem in the Danish metal scene; namely the unwillingness to transcend the safety of a brutal beatdown and dare venture as far as a particular sequence might otherwise take them. Fortunately the title track suffers from no such quandary, however, and its chilling final crescendo could even be considered one of the finest musical moments in Danish metal this year.

Having said all that, Road to Manila are obviously in the process of reinventing their sound, and Rome was not built in a day, it is said. Judging from the strength of the standout moments, Road to Manila will have no problems distilling their best ideas into more focused, and more inventive songs on future efforts.

7

Download: Waiting for Goddeau, Weigh One's Actions
For the fans of: Architects, Shaped Like Swans, While She Sleeps
Listen: Facebook

Release date29.10.2011
Self-released

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