Vital Signs

Smoke & Mirrors EP

Written by: PP on 31/01/2015 15:06:29

Vital Signs is a brand new metalcore quartet from Pennysylvania, US, having formed last summer from the ashes of a number of bands, the most prominent one being Ace Augustine. But where the latter band was a mediocre Christian metalcore group with little to offer other than a derivative, generic sound, Vital Signs might just be onto something on their debut EP "Smoke & Mirrors" that was released earlier this week. Taking cues from straight up post-hardcore and blending these with dynamic metalcore riffage with the odd polyrhythm and stop/start sequence here and there, the band find themselves in a similar territory to bands like Memphis May Fire, Of Mice & Men and The Color Morale among many others from the newer generation of melodic metalcore bands.

In practice, the above translates to songs which may at first appear a little schizophrenic. For starters, "Dear Death" surfs a blurry wave between dynamic metalcore leads, more progressive and depth-laden instrumental sections, and emotive clean vocals that draw from Saosin's legacy. A few symphonies and dramatic keyboards backing are of course a given in this type of an expression. The shift between the post-hardcore sections and the viscious metalcore passages is effortless and smooth, however, avoiding exactly the sense of copy/paste feel that many other similar bands may suffer from occasionally. Here, the songs have good, dynamic flow, with strong lead melodies suggesting Vital Signs have something substantial to offer to the metalcore scene at least in the future.

"Smoke & Mirrors" EP displays a solid five track peek into how this band will sound like in the future. Classic Rise Records merge between post-hardcore and metalcore played in a fairly textbook manner, but the songwriting is strong enough to leave behind a positive impression. Vocal harmonies, guitar riffs and the production are all top notch, suggesting Vital Signs to be a band to keep a close eye on as they gear for a debut album release sometime later this year / early next year, hopefully.

7

Download: Dear Death, The Chosen
For the fans of: Memphis May Fire, The Color Morale, Apparitions, Of Mice & Men
Listen: Facebook

Release date 27.01.2015
Imminence Records

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

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.