End Reign Demo

This is the second demo from a fairly new metallic hardcore outfit from the north east of England. Powerful and raging stuff that is clearly influenced by the driving riffs of early Rise & fall and liberally seasoned with crunchy breakdowns that bring to mind Unbowed era The Break In. Vocally, the singer sounds a lot like Bjorn from Rise & fall too with those very dry, hoarse, clipped bellows. I had a quick peek at the lyrics and it’s all pseudo religious metaphor and imagery mixed in with personal/vengeful themes. A few things that piss me off about this demo... the recording is a little too crisp and clean for my preference, maybe that’s what the band wanted but I always think this kinda HC sounds more legit with a filthier production. Also the artwork is beyond played out too, just me of Gustav Dore’s Inferno illustrations with blurry text dumped on the top...that shit was old hat when Canaan ripped if off eleven years ago! In short a promising, solid start, well played/structured songs and i’ll be interested to see what they do next, just record it in a sewer and throw a little more imagination into the artwork/presentation. www.myspace.com/endreign