Ace Augustine

The Sick And Suffering

Written by: PP on 23/09/2013 16:49:20

Ace Augustine are a Christian metalcore outfit from Lancaster, PA, who were on the receiving end of significant praise for their debut album "The Absolute". Since then, the band has shuffled their lineup to feature a new vocalist and a new drummer, and undergone an apparent shift-in-sound on their sophomore album "The Sick And Suffering". In place of a dynamic sound is now a generic, standard-fare metalcore expression that checks all the clichés in the genre without integrating anything on particular interest on top of the mixture.

That might sound like an overtly rough assessment based on the catchy clean vocals of "Day After Day", for instance, but the fact of the matter is that this type of sound simply has to contain more character and identity to make in 2013. Not only is it derivative with the emo/post-hardcore style clean vocals laid on top of screaming in a predictable manner, but the thick growls and higher pitch screams sound pretty much like every average band you've ran across in the genre over the years. When the tempo comes further down to a crashing halt for brutal one chord breakdowns from time to time, as usual it adds nothing to the overall soundscape and pushes Ace Augustine even further into the realm of oversaturation that has existed within metalcore for the better part of the last five years or so.

There are moments where Ace Augustine have a convincing sound ("Fools Gold", "Mannequins"), and they can admittedly write catchy choruses on a few occasions, but the problem is that the bridging sections are as generic as they come in metalcore. These songs simply don't stick to your mind - at all - which I have to regrettably admit is the case even after 10+ listens to the record.

Download: Day After Day, Fools Gold, Mannequins
For the fans of: Onward To Olympas, Altars, Inhale Exhale,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.04.2013
Red Cord Records

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