REVIEW // Being As An Ocean - How We Both Wondrously Perish
Sounds like: Alexisonfire, Counterparts, and Hundredth
Track to Listen to: Mothers
I first heard about Being as an Ocean about a year ago from a friend who was planning on starting a band which sounded like ‘Defeater and Being as an Ocean’. From the first song I heard from their debut album, Dear G-d, I was incredibly impressed with the variation and sophistication of the music. Since the Californians released their debut, they have toured endlessly around several countries including the US, Canada, and Australia. In 2014 Being as an Ocean release their second album, How We Both Wondrously Perish; providing a demonstration of an evolution and a propelled maturity. On Being as an Ocean’s second album they present an album which is far from a standard Melodic Hardcore release.
Since Dear G-d two members; Jacob Prest (rhythm guitar) and Shad Hamawe (drums); have left to pursue a life away from the band and touring, being replaced by Michael McGough (rhythm guitar) and Connor Denis (drums) respectably. Rather than that stalling the band’s music, the two new members have continued in the same vein as the last, pushing Being as an Ocean further forward. To move along to analysing the music, it is fair to say that the composition of each song is dense, complex, and varied. If it was to be compared to anything, it would be compared to a sentient being; where in there are the obvious features and then what lies underneath, the inner self.
To begin with the guitar phrases and playing, garner a terrific component to the music. The guitar playing is not brash and in your face, rather it provides a subtle mechanism for the albums speed and pace. Both Tyler Ross (lead guitar) and Michael McGough work in harmony, in the guitar ranks and backing and clean vocal duties. The guitar line which starts Death’s Great Black Wing Scrapes the Air is second to none and really introduces the track well. The backing vocals of Ross work wonderfully, while the cleans of McGough provide incredibly catchy and meaningful vocals to sing along to. Accompanying the guitar lines are multiple examples of instrumental tones and atmospheric vibrations, which intermix cohesively with the other instruments. The tones and vibrations provide sophistication, and set Being as an Ocean apart from many of their contemporaries in the hardcore scene.
While it is a fact that there is a bass in How We Both Wondrously Perish, it is not particularly clear in the mix where Ralph Sica’s bass work can be heard. It is not to say that he is a flawed bassist, but it can be said that Sica’s bass work is not particularly evident in this release. I wish I could provide an analysis of his bass work; however it is almost impossible unless I intended to listen to the album at full blast and blow my ear drums. To move on, Connor Denis’s drum work is spot on in How We Both Wondrously Perish. The precision on the toms, the snares and the other drum components is marvellous and should really be admired. On the production, the toms come through especially well. The variation and subtle changes of speed really aid each song on the album along.
The last area to mention is the vocals of Joel Quartuccio. On How We Both Wondrously Perish, the Being as an Ocean singer incorporates two different styles of singing throughout the album. The screaming which emerges in sections of songs is quite good, and definitely does its job sufficiently. The screaming which is used provides that grunt which is required at times on this album. The second style of vocals, the spoken word vocals are really impressive to hear on a modern hardcore release. It is well known that spoken word was considerably more common in 80s hardcore than the modern incarnation of the genre. Personally it is refreshing when it does come up in a release like this one. The spoken word sections are far more powerful than the screaming in Being as an Ocean’s second album. A good example of this is in the song Mothers, where Quartuccio meaningfully utters;
Adorned with quite strength, you’ve proved that meek doesn’t have to be weak. Learned to show love to all, no matter title or rake. While not your own you’ve helped raised me. And for the things you’ve shown me I can hardly offer sufficient thanks.
Like all the spoken word sections, Joel Quartuccio almost preaches like a gospel priest to the listener, in most cases providing examples of human kindness and faith in the goodwill of humankind.
Overall Being as an Ocean provide a terrific effort and performance on their second album How We Both Wondrously Perish, showing why there has been so much plaudit over the band from California. The guitar work is great by both Ross and McGough, and the tones and atmospheric vibrations which accompany much of the guitars are wonderful. The drums provide a fantastic display, as well as the vocals, which are incredibly mature. The only area which is frustrating is the bass-lines which are not very easy to hear. Apart from this fact, the album is thoroughly enjoyable, and How We Both Wondrously Perish is genuinely worth a purchase.
I have always liked UK Hardcore, and there is a very good reason for this; it’s hard-hitting, and most of all is meaningful. In 2014 UK band, Knights release their third EP; Hailstorm; and like many other bands from this nation, it contains these elements I’ve talked about; being hard-hitting and featuring lots of meaning and heart.
To begin with, the production is very crisp and clear, really translating into the way in which the instruments and vocals come across. I think it would be appropriate to begin with the guitar, as that element forms a strong backing for the music. Michael Storey throughout the EP plays some very catchy riffs, which are quite memorable, and transition extremely smoothly. The guitar on the most part possesses a great mix of savage riffs which dip their toes in heaviness while maintaining some ferocity, as well as riffs which contain a fair amount of bounce. The riffs are nothing remarkable, but they do propel the music forward and that is very important, as Hardcore very much so requires an aggressive push.
The bass of James Denham throughout Hailstorm lurks in the mist behind the guitar and drums, but none the less can be heard to a small extent. From what I could hear, the bass lines kept a simple pattern, however did maintain the beat of the other instruments, and cemented the music to the ground. The bass doesn’t do anything particularly special; rather it keeps that slightly stripped back, and no thrills style firstly initiated by the guitar. The next area; drums and samples; performed by Joe Drury are performed in a very clinical and aggressive manner, complementing the bass and guitar. The production really assists with demonstrating the terrific variation which Joe brings across in his drumming. I found throughout the EP the prominent use of the snares, definitely keeps the music rolling forward, though can get slightly tiresome, though not very often. The work with the kick drum and toms is adequate, and does maintain the ferocity put there by the guitar. The samples are used appropriately throughout Hailstorm; adding a slight amount of poignancy and acting as a pleasant break between tracks, as well as in the last track Crestfallen adding some depth to the music, in the form of what sounds like violins.
The vocalist, Kevin Kendall suits the sound of Knights very well. His mixing of clean vocals, and screams, works well, showing a great level of maturity and of talent. It is a rare thing, that a lead vocalist can do both the screams and cleans for a band, as most predominantly retain a voice which only adheres to screaming.
Overall Hailstorm is a terrifically solid EP; which demonstrates all the good elements of the band, and that of UK Hardcore. However Hailstorm is not an EP which resonates with you for that long after hearing it; acting as a great release to get jeered up to, but not to use as a reference point for UK Hardcore. Knights should be proud of what they’ve made, but understand, that with more experience in the years to come, that they can only get better, and build upon their already impressive foundations.
Sounds Like: Bayside, Four Year Strong, The Early November
Track to Listen to: Where Were You
I Am the Avalanche are a New-York based Rock/Punk band who have been around for almost a decade, and this year they bring us their Third Full-Length Album; Wolverines. The best way to describe Wolverines on first appearances, is as if it were an autumn day and you were skating-boarding through a park surrounded by trees with leaves the colour of embers and flames, fell off, cracked your skull, got stitches; but instead of stopping, got back on your board, and went ‘to hell with it’. The album is an album filled and fuelled by resilience, human condition, and the strength of the human spirit.
The production aesthetics first and fore mostly set Wolverines up; it’s warm, has a softness to it; it feels pure, organic, true. The way in which the production values have captured the instruments is terrific; the guitars, bass, drums, and vocals sound wholesome and at the same time punchy, though the bass does slightly get the big brother guitar treatment, with it kicking and scratching its way to the top every now and then. The guitars and drums merge great throughout the album, with some of the guitar work matching up perfectly with the toms, snares, and cymbals. Brandon Swanson (guitar), Brett “The Ratt” Romnes (drums) and John Oliva (bass) can all gives themselves a pat on the back because their musicianship is more than just solid, it’s spot on. The newbie, Oliva should feel very happy with his first album effort for the band.
The last cog to mention in the clock is the singer, Vinnie Caruana, who puts a heartfelt effort into his vocals and what I’d argue, into all of the lyrics. Vinnie has a rough, yet melodic voice, which never makes you feel as if you are being shouted at; in fact he welcomes you in with open arms. Leading up to the album Caruana had some major health issues; having a herniated disc in his spine, which required being operated upon. These struggles are expressed in his singing, if not in the lyrics, like in The Shape I’m In.
If I had to recommend a song then I’d recommend, Where Were You. The verse, “If you weren’t there when I needed you most, I won’t shed a tear when I see your ghost”, really resounds with me, it sounds so genuine. It’s not written on hollowed ink, rather ink mixed with blood, sweat and emotions. If you are into Rock which has tinges of Punk and Indie, then I’d highly recommend it. I found this release really enjoyable.
For fans of: Fit For A King, Silent Screams, Like Moths To Flames
fast riff
riff some more
0-0-0-0
some cleans
0-0-0-0
riff some more
Some songs attempt to change this pattern but only through the use of waaaaay too many clean vocals *cough* Set me on Fire *cough* - although this song does have the best sounding drumming.
I would speak of the bass guitar, if it wasn't virtually non-exsistant; a growing trend that really should stop growing. But again, Buried In Verona try and save themselves from drowning out all bass guitar by giving it a few solos during the song "The Damned" which is an altogether enjoyable song, incorporating a great mix of all instruments.
Now that is all out of the way, we can move to the good parts of the album. The opening track "Eclipse" is a great sounding track, nice jumpy riffage, complemented by some intense drum work and the normal Buried In Verona screams and cleans alternating (not too much though). This track certainly gives the feel for the album & it is a good one.
"Catatonic" is probably the stand out track on the album. Giving you quick fire riffs and heavier vocals before moving into cleans to break up any monotony of Brett's vocals. Some gang-vocals are also mixed well into the track, again making this the stand out track for me.
Buried In Verona produces another quality track in "Revival" showing off a bit of bass and the best riffage throughout the whole album. I feel Buried In Verona started off with tonnes of inspiration for songs and wrote a bunch of great ones at the beginning, then slacked off in the middle to write a few pretty "meh" ones before pulling their heads in and finishing off with a bang for the end of the album.
With some weird kinda half attempt at rap in "Blind Eyes" that is actually really enjoyable, with a little bit of something akin to DJing in it as well, it is a great sounding song. Don't be detered by my use of the word "rap" it just seemed appropriate.
To sum it all up, Buried In Verona have created a great album that has it's shining stars and a few throwaway songs in it. It isn't ground breaking but certainly is a massive breath of fresh air from them and shows that they really knuckled down and pulled together to produce an above-average album.
Rating: 7.5/10
For fans of: Make Them Suffer, Saviour and Like Moths To Flames
Road To Ransome are a symphonic death core band from Brisbane, Australia. They are easily one of the top locals that have come from there, watching them live a few times; I knew these guys were the real deal. After releasing their two EP’s and having a few member changes, they have finally brought out one hell of a new record.
Nightmare in my opinion was the perfect first single to be released, it was the middle ground of the album, which is always the best option to go with, and it was also one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Track 8 called Key Crafter was the heaviest track on the album, and definably refreshing, it was unique, it took a lot of influence from Saviour regarding a few of the riffs on it and wasn’t completely made of breakdowns.
The last track Exitus was an amazing way to end the album, very punchy and bouncy, something that will for sure get a crowd moving, but ending with something slow and carries a lot of emotion which is an awesome mix.
Only thing I would have given it are more slow parts, and solos.
This album isn’t something out of this world, but I must say, I’m surprised these guys aren’t a lot bigger than they are. Something I’ve picked up from the album is defiantly the “freedom” subject which is rad.
This is a record everyone should definitely pick up if you love fast and heavy.
For Fans of: Isles & Glaciers, Dance Gavin Dance
Listen To: The Tunnel
Propagation is a three track EP release from Philadelphia-based five-piece
20 Days In, managing to showcase a fairly new strong sound, hard to define
within one specific genre. I would guess that alternative rock would be the
closest fit for these guys. While the EP is quite short, the variation of
sound shown in each song that makes Propagation stand out from other similar
releases. The Vocals for 20 Days In are amazing and really showcased in
Propagation, strong when the tempo picks up and haunting when they need to
be. ‘The Tunnel’ would be my favourite song off the EP, showcasing a cool
combination of sound, one you could easily close your eyes and get lost in.
Rating: 7/10
The Trouble with Templeton are a five piece Alternative folk band from Brisbane who have been gaining momentum this past year with a smooth masterful sound and emotionally charged lyrics. Releasing their sophomore album Rookie, It is clear why they have been getting attention. Second track You are New showcases bands talent at craftily blending a variety of instruments with vocalist Thomas Calder’s striking vocals finishing the sound. Like a Kid speeds up the pace and is a nice change from the slow first few tracks. Finishing strongly with Lint, Rookie proves itself to be a thoroughly good release. The vocals would be the stand out for me and the album is definitely one you should check out if you are a fan of the likes of Matt Corby and Can Cisco. You can catch The Trouble with Templeton next at the Queenscliff Music festival.
Blink 182, La Dispute, Bad Religion Brisbane, Australia
Coffee, Desks and Promises and Going Under /columbusmakesmusic
Columbus is a 4 piece punk/emo band from Brisbane who formed in March of 2012. Since then, they have been working on, and finally released their EP “Sad Songs and Sing-Alongs".
The EP is great for people who enjoy bands such as Blink 182, La Dispute, and classic Bad Religion. Columbus has their own very unique sound. The lyrics are really interesting and the whole EP has a really cool vibe to it. The instruments and vocals compliment each other really well, blending in with one another. The songs are really relaxing and have quite an emotional feel to them. All in all, it’s definitely something that I would recommend especially if you’re into punk.
