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We Were Skeletons

Blame & Aging

Written by: PP on 02/03/2013 16:54:22

Two years ago, Pennsylvania based original screamo outfit We Were Skeletons released a chaotic, messy debut album for all fans of bands like Hot Cross and Saetia, where blinding riffwork met throaty screaming in a desperation-driven soundscape. For their sophomore album "Blame & Aging", they've begun honing their sound towards a more structured direction.

For starters, it means that most of the crazy, The Fall Of Troy-influenced guitars aren't there anymore. Instead, the band takes a far more subdued approach, where the guitars are used carefully for building atmosphere and for setting the mood to fit the classic feeling of total desperation that's usually present in original screamo albums. It's noticeably more ambitious, so many tracks have lengthy build ups and choke points that explode with urgency and immediacy shortly after. In that sense, they are arguably taking in cues from Refused's "The Shape Of Punk To Come", which also means that the vocals aren't screamed from the top of their lungs anymore. They've become slightly cleaner and, one might add, technically more proficient instead of the typical throat-ruining session that's been the case before and with other similar bands.

Both of these are a required change if We Were Skeletons wish to distinguish themselves from the countless other screamo revivalists out there. "Blame & Aging" goes a long way to doing just that, but I do find myself missing the element of unpredictable that drove their debut album. The songs here are slower and more long-winded, which suits the more structured approach, but the band should consider mixing up the two styles for a stop-start experience of balanced chaos and structure.

Download: Long Night, End All Suffering
For the fans of: Traktor, Kaospilot, Hot Cross, Saetia, Refused
Listen: Facebook

Release date 22.10.2012
Topshelf Records