Last View

Hell In Reverse

Written by: AP on 11/01/2012 19:56:51

Last View have garnered a reputation as one of the most fearsome live acts in Sweden, and listening to the band's debut album "Hell in Reverse" it is indeed difficult to imagine the band not ripping the stage apart. Last View deals in the darker end of the metalcore spectrum alongside bands like Mychildren Mybride and Bridge to Solace, though with ample references to both thrash metal and hardcore present in their music as well. Their music is characterized by a furious tempo, aggressive spirit, and of course a total absence of clean vocals.

Another element that makes frequent appearances in Last View's music is, perhaps expectedly, the breakdown; so much is clear already on the title track which fires off the album, and on the following "For Something to Keep". In fact, Last View make use of it so much that drawing parallels to Parkway Drive is inevitable: both bands have a flair for writing excellent riffs and melodies, but tend to interrupt things as often as possible with a brutal beatdown. This is of course understandable considering the band's attitude towards writing music: they write it with the live setting in mind, and nothing gets a crowd fuming like some good old chugging. Unfortunately the side effect is that many of the songs on the album are not optimal for casual listening purposes.

On the other hand, songs like "Remembrance", "It's True" and "Fear: It's Yours", which draw their inspiration mostly from the extreme metal communities, effectively rescue "Hell in Reverse" from descending into hopeless mediocrity. The sheer intensity and malevolence of these songs, the second of which clocks in at just 49 seconds of pure evil, is a fine counterbalance for more traditional metalcore pieces like "The Ties That Bind". What is also most pleasing about the album are the significant improvements that have taken place between the band's promising but lackluster "Become the Storm" EP: the rawness and ferocity that set the band apart from their stateside colleagues has been perfected, and now constitutes the band's very identity. You simply won't find bands as vehement as Last View over there, not in this genre at least, and this is to Last View's advantage.

So while "Hell in Reverse" certainly is not an innovative album, it is one that demonstrates the band's intentions with frightening conviction, and fans of metalcore that is slightly more brutal than is typical are likely to find lots to rave about. The breakdowns, though used abundantly and sometimes without any real reason, rarely frustrate one's sense of aesthetics, and the extreme fervor with which these songs are delivered is a refreshing alternative to most contemporary metalcore, particularly that originating from across the Atlantic.

7

Download: Hell in Reverse, Remembrance, It's True, Down by the Docks
For the fans of: Bridge to Solace, Mychildren Mybride, Walking With Strangers
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.09.2012
ViciSolum Productions

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