| As the first band signed by singer Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying. A Love Ends Suicide
is the perfect first edition to High Impact Recordings. Built up of an explosive mix of
Hardcore and Metal, this band has been shocking crowds everywhere they go. Don't mistake
this band for an average California metal act, because they blend influences from various
regions in the US, including the Midwest where similarities between ALES and Winds of
Plague seem pretty obvious.
A Love Ends Suicide's debut begins with fast sweeping action and a catchy rhythm that
makes the track "Cold Summer" one of the more notable tracks on the album. Right off the
bat, ALES' in your face like vocal stylings are heard loud and clear over the many
harmonized guitar riffs and breakdowns. Following the opening track is the album's title
track "In the Disaster". Immediately jumping into what seems like a continuation of the
opening track, this track (with a few differences) seems to sound just like first. The few
differences are made in the chorus of the song, and then the breakdown. After ringing out
of the title track, "Of Day Dream and Fantasy" kicks things back into gear with a little
guitar harmony to open the song and then the same style of drumming holding the song together.
This song contains a really catchy singing part that peaks things off before the breakdown
around the 2 minute mark. After slowing things down for a bit, the singing loops itself through
once more and then into the breakdown one more time before the track's end. "Lets Spark to
Fire" is notable mostly for the catchy breakdown and a few of the riffs that contain sliding
harmonics that pierce there way through the music and into the listeners head. Another thing
that makes this track standout among the others, is the brief solo before the tracks end,
although short lived, it's enough to keep listeners wanting more.
Starting things out with a different flavore and a lower tempo is "The Black Art". The opening
riff is an off timing riff that keeps the tempo of the drums lower and gives listeners a new
sound. Shortly after this riff though, things pick back up for a bit and then ALES jumps into
yet another breakdown. This track, is a less notable track, then the rest. But if you get through
the first half of the track, you're sure to be taken over by some of the riffs around the 3
minute mark. Once "The Black Art" rings out, A Love Ends Suicide blasts right into their following
track entitled "Romance Creates Killers". Not to my surprise, this track too, is built off of
harmonized guitar riffs and breakdowns lead by short lived guitar solos. As if this track didn't
follow the pattern enough already, more singing surfaces later in the song. "Amadeus" also is
built off the same sort of riffs, but the breakdowns seem a little more thought out rather than
just forced into the song. Later in the track beneath a simple fast picking riff, I find myself
hearing the same sweeping pattern used to open the CD. This kind of makes the song, less creative,
merely because it sounds almost identical as the arpeggio that opened "Cold Summer". To make up
for the lack of originality, ALES jumps into a rock like riff that shows a slight difference
between many of the other riffs on this album. The following two tracks continue into the exact
same equation that built up the majority of A Love Ends Suicide's debut, and seem to have a boring
overall sound to them. But the albums second to last song entitled "Skate Junction" seems to
pull ALES out of the generic trance that the previous songs left them stuck in. This track has
far more original leads in it, and has an overall more intense structure, than most of the CD.
After a long breakdown and a build up to the tracks end, "Heroes of Faith" quickly hops back in
to finish the job. Although not quite as good as the start of "Skate Junction" this track is still
far above tracks such as "Another Revolution" and "Dying to be Beautiful". It does the album a
lot better justice and helps to finish things out right.
Although the technicality of some of A Love Ends Suicide riffs, are well above and beyond most of
metalcore's big hitters, they unfortunately make a perfect example of why technicality isn't always
better. Some of the riffs on "In the Disaster" seem repeated constantly, and the harmonies are always
used the same way. The vocals are a little monotonous, but still contain a sense of strength that,
keeps listeners amused. I personally think ALES might be better off without the singing parts, but
depending on a listeners's stand point, these singing parts could be a refreshing change. I honestly
think that a 5 or 6 song EP would have been a better way to start off with, because with a length of
11 tracks, listeners can find themselves easily sidetracked. A few standout tracks are "Cold Summer,"
"Skate Junction," and "Heroes of Faith". There are a few others but for the most part, most of these
tracks blend in well with eachother so they aren't easily remembered. I think that A Love Ends Suicide
has a lot of potential, and being on a brand new label under the name of Tim Lambesis is a lot of
pressure, because they are set up to meet high expectations. But if they can manage to make a few more
tracks following a few different influences, I think they'll live right up to those high expectations.
~ Drew
September 06 2006 |
