Metalcore titans We Came As Romans are set to release their seventh studio album, “All Is Beautiful…Because We’re Doomed”, on the 22nd of August. It is something to behold, thirteen tracks that run the full range of the genre and then some. It’s brutal and melodic in equal measures and will draw you in from the first listen.
Opening with the atmospheric electro inspired “All Is Beautiful” the album launches in earnest with the monster “bad luck”, crammed with all the essential metalcore elements from the opening harmonies to the banging drum beat, clean and screamed vocals this has it all but most importantly it rocks, it’s catchy as hell with savage verses and massive singalong choruses, a solid start. The heavy “lake of fire” is a brilliant, faster with a more aggressive tone interspersed with melodic and clean sections that play well off each other, Stephens vocal switchups are class while the track itself is built off a massive drum and bass beat courtesy of Puckett and Glass respectively while Moore and Cotton lay down some serious riffage, this is metalcore at its finest. “red smoke” offers another brutal assault on the senses as Stephens goes for a more guttural approach backed up by a mash of chugging riffs and synths with a heavy as fuck drum beat, this is one of the standouts on the album a cracking track.
The more melodic “one by one” is an excellent track, Stephens keeps it clean for the most part, the bouncing rhythm of the drums and guitars makes the track and the synth in the background adds a nice touch. “culture wound” opens with an electro effect and Stephens slow haunting clean vocals ringing in your ears before it drops to a slow heavy beat as Stephens switches between his soaring melodic and guttural vocals so smoothly it’s amazing to hear, another cracker. “where did you go” has radio hit written all over it and will be monster live, from its mellow verses with Stephens sounding very restrained to the soaring choruses where the track gets heavier before dropping back, a brilliant track that is probably the best one on the album. The relentless “no rest for the dreamer” is an absolute banger with its monster drum and bass beat and crunching riffs. WhenStephens comes up for air at the chorus, he switches it to clean vocals with a killer hook, love this one and another that will go down a treat live. Continuing in the savage vein is “b2tm”, built off a brutal bass line from Glass and ably assisted by Puckett and his blistering drums, crunching riffs and Stephens manic vocals top it all off in a sonic assault that takes a bit of time to get over, classic track. “circling a dying sun” reins in the brutal for a more mellow number with the electro side being a little more prevalent, the heavy bass and drum beat are phenomenal and a great foil for the synth and electro beats giving you a belter. “knowing pain” kicks it up a notch as the band go full on, the interchanges from screamed to clean and back again are seamless; with killer hooks in the chorus and a savage rhythm through the verses, this is a top notch example of how to do metalcore properly, a serious contender for track of the album.
The pounding rhythm of “so lost(burning flowers)” hooks you from the start, and will be stuck in your head forever, combined with Stephens classy vocals and the bands inane ability to spawn a killer track from the mayhem they create with crashing drums, thumping bass, cutting riffs and synths that seem so out of place that they fit perfectly, a solid track. The album close with “BECAUSE WE’RE DOOMED”, going out with a bang the band turn everything to ten and go all out, a scintillating drum beat, crushing bass line and riffs that are so sharp and on point all the while Stephens’ vocals are savage whether they be clean or screamed, a real high to go out on.
“All Is Beautiful Because We’re Doomed” is out 2on 2nd August.
Review: Conor
We Came As Romans are:
Dave Stephens Vocals
Joshua Moore Lead guitar
Lou Cotton Rhythm guitar
Andy Glass Bass
David Puckett Drums
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