Fall City Fall

Victus

Written by: PP on 14/01/2013 21:30:25

One of the newer signees for the ever-expanding Victory Records roster, Calgary-based Fall City Fall deliver a raw and uncompromising start to 2013 on their debut album "Victus". Initially, they start with a rhythmically paced, emotionally wrenched approach to hardcore like a heavier version of La Dispute, but quickly start integrating elements of mathcore and chaotic hardcore into the mix for an unpredictable and a challenging listen.

For the remainder of "Victus", Fall City Fall variate between a punishing mathcore/hardcore stance and a (slightly) more melodic and slower approach. The former sees the band draw strong parallels to early efforts by The Chariot and Norma Jean from circa-"Redeemer" era, whilst their ferocity is easily comparable to the anti-melody onslaught displayed by Every Time I Die. The guitars swirl and curl in nonsensical manner to provide the chaos element to the mix, above which their two vocalists scream and howl their way through the album. In this department, they could use some more creativity, though, because they are only marginally different from each other. It can't take until you read the promotional sheet much later to realize it's not the same guy on all of the songs. It simply can't.

Both of them take cues from Josh Scogin (The Chariot) and Keith Buckley (ETID) in that they deliver a scraping scream with stress on the word uncompromising, but also integrate southern hardcore swagger for added character. The southern fried croons are best visible during the chaotic tracks, but it's slower cuts like "Taken" which really allow them to form a clear identity above the soundscape. The fast, aggressive tracks are decent, but Fall City Fall's strength lies within the Modern Life Is War/La Dispute style misanthropic slow-pace hardcore. This is where they stop sounding like a weaker version of Norma Jean/The Chariot and like a band with something to say and something to show for it instrumentally. It's a shame there aren't more of these on the record.

7

Download: St. James, Shallow Believer, Taken
For the fans of: Norma Jean, The Chariot, Cancer Bats
Listen: Facebook

Release date 22.01.2013
Victory Records

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