Lost In Despair

Vitality EP

Written by: TL on 27/12/2014 17:25:25

With the impending release of the "Vitality" EP, the young Danish melodic hardcore group Lost In Despair will make it to their third short release in fewer years of existence. The quintet from the provincial town of Vejle has previously gathered praise from one of our now departed junior writers, and with "Vitality" it seems that they intend to keep in stride in terms of releasing material regularly at least.

The EP opens with its title track, which sets a very elaborate, cinematic tone, making for a sort of "calm before the storm" moment that wouldn't sound out of place on releases by genre leaders like Architects or Bring Me The Horizon. Oddly though, the momentum it builds is contrasted instead of extended, as the opener proper, "The Mirror", gallops ahead at ferocious hardcore speed, commencing with a raw and direct energy more akin to that of Comeback Kid or The Ghost Inside. And thus the primal elements of this release are brought in play, for while "The Mirror" eventually includes its fair share of sky-gazing melodic riffage, which is easily the main point of appeal in Lost In Despair's sound, particularly in this song and in "Lifeblood" there are injections of tempo which show that the band seeks to combine ferocity with thoughful melodiousness in a best-of-both-worlds kind of soundscape.

The EP is highlighted by the signature part that opens centrepiece "Disremember(ed)" in pummeling fashion, laying down a satisfying beating both the first and the second time around. Outside of here however, it's clearly in Lost In Despair's ambitious melodic parts that they stand a chance at getting noticed as more than par for the course in the genre. Closer "The Struggle", which sets perhaps the most dramatic tone of the release, shows a knack for larger than life melodies that could be built into something that would work on stages of all sizes.

When the lads are still merely a promising band in the genre - not a bigger one that draws fans in from outside of the genre - it's presumeably partly because they're still searching for the perfectly striking movements in their compositions, and partly because their vocals lack the standout potential of the instrumentation. Make no mistake, the mid-range growling here does sound proficient to the point where you could mistake the group for one touring the more prosperous American or German hardcore circuits, but there's a clear gap up to the swagger and flexibility of metalcore's leading frontmen. The diction is up and down and the intesity level is quite static, and while things sound their best in the upper ranges, particularly the lows attempted in "Lifeblood" have room for improvement.

It's good though, that Lost In Despair are at least working to include more flexibility in the vocal department, as improvements here look like a possible key to realising the potential the band is already honing with their enjoyable instrumental parts. "Vitality" isn't quite that epiphany though, but it's a solid "we mean business" kind of statement, which the lads would be wise to take on tour in support of a larger similar name - Not because simply making more EP's of this sort wouldn't adequately extend their lifespan in the nearest hardcore scene(s), but because leeching some extra experience and eventually trying at a full length album seems the obvious way to go if these youngsters want to expand on what they're doing now.

Download: Disremember(ed), The Struggle
For The Fans Of: August Burns Red, Misery Signals, The Ghost Inside, Architects
Listen: facebook.com/lostindespairdk

Release date 01.01.2015
Self-released

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.