Planara

Hostiles EP

Written by: LF on 31/05/2014 17:42:14

Planara is a new metal outfit from St. Petersburg, Russia that plays high-energy, electronic metal with hints in the direction of both post-hardcore and alternative metal. Their debut EP "Hostiles" comprises five songs and is presented as a concept release about the nature of hostility, a theme that is well-supported by the aggressive riffing throughout.

"Hostiles" kick off with its title track that features all the key elements of Planara's sound: prominent and heavy electronics, strong melodies in the vein of Sleeping With Sirens and a slightly hoarse vocalist that to me really sounds like Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides, at least on the first two tracks. Song number two of the EP, "On the Run", is an early explosion of energy as it rolls off like a freight train until it hits a progressive tunnel of electronic riffs towards the end that doesn't quite slow it down but rather just nicely adds intensity to the tune. In comparison the next track "What I Will Never Say" is a slow one and the most prominent example of the side of the band's sound that's mostly influenced by alternative metal, with the riffs sounding somewhat bombastic. It recalls a band like Incubus, not least because of the mellow vocals that feature heavily in the last three songs of the EP. "Enslaved" is by a slight margin the strongest song on the EP, and if the hook laid out from the very beginning in combination with the heavy rhythm and the resentful, rapped verses doesn't make you want to move, I simply don't know what will.

The last song "All The Right Wrongs" features a catchy rap-piece as well, which serves to build up to the emotional and acoustic, slower end that finishes the EP. Even though the level of the quality of the songs on this EP is pretty constant, it is a somewhat generic release in the genre, but a well-executed and solidly structured one that stands to prove that Planara is a band that has definitely got their song-writing down. The band is being hailed as one of Russia's brightest metal hopes, and with this EP they have indeed introduced us to a well-woven mix of styles that they can build upon on the full-length that they have coming out this summer.

7

Download: Enslaved, On The Run
For The Fans Of: Incubus, Sleeping With Sirens, Sevendust, (early) Thrice
Listen: facebook.com/planararock

Release date 24.03.2014
Self-released


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