ALBUM REVIEW: For Those Who Suffer, Alone – Survivalist
Belfast metalcore band SURVIVALIST are one of several bands fusing deathcore elements with modern metalcore, appealing to audiences from Sirius XM Liquid Metal to Sirius XM Octane. This combination of sounds is not novel, but what matters most when traveling well-worn territory is how well it is done. SURVIVALIST have been building momentum, touring with the likes of THY ART IS MURDER and scoring features from both Alex Koehler (ex-CHELSEA GRIN) and rapper KID BOOKIE. That said, the band doesn’t do quite enough to show where this hype is coming from on this new record, For Those Who Suffer, Alone.
The band succeeds the most at what is arguably the most important part of being a metalcore band: they know how to be heavy. The production has bite, and vocalist Gavin Sharp’s screams are fierce and effective when the band locks in for a thunderous breakdown or punishing riff passage. The problem is that the more melodic moments on For Those Who Suffer don’t hold up nearly as well. Sharp’s clean vocals are far from bad, but the melodic choruses on this record feel boilerplate at best and melodramatic at worst. Many of the songs on this record start with a great momentum in the verses, only to slump into a generic chorus. Single Failure of Being falls into this trap. While it maintains a harsh atmosphere and has some emotional melodic lead guitar at the end, the chorus feels overdramatic and ineffective. The clean vocals feel like checking a box most of the time on this record, whereas the screams and heaviness feel much more natural. Weaponised God Complex similarly has some gnarly low screams and riffs, but its soporific chorus, “You use your words as weapons”, drives the track into corny territory. The vicious ending redeems the song a bit, but it would go down a lot smoother if the chorus had been left on the cutting room floor.
The album is not without highlights, however. Deathbed is a groovy suite of catchy screamed refrains, bend riffs, and Alex Koehler’s rasping vocal feature. This song showcases SURVIVALIST‘s knack for both guitar work and grooviness; it’s got everything a metalcore fan would want (even a “blegh!” amidst the numerous breakdowns). The song isn’t good simply because it’s heavier, but because SURVIVALIST’s writing style is much better suited to this type of song.
Pretty easily, the worst track on the record is Speak Up (Louder), which begins with a painful rap section with vocals from both featured rapper KID BOOKIE and a screamed verse from Sharp. The mixture of a goofy horn sample, trap beats, and panning dissonant guitars does not go over well. Rap and metal have proved combinable many times, but not only does this not fit on the album, it’s just very poorly executed. The rest of the song proceeds in typical SURVIVALIST fashion, with ominous vocal samples, chugs, and angry screaming, and it makes the listener wonder why the rapping was at the beginning at all when it feels like a completely different song.
SURVIVALIST certainly show some promise with this record. The band members are all clearly talented, and when they fire on all cylinders, they produce some groovy, delicious heaviness. When they stumble into the trappings of radio-friendliness or mismatched genre combinations, they lose their grip and produce uneven songs that bite at one second and grind to a halt the next. If you’re craving new metalcore, it’s worth giving a shot (at least Deathbed), but as of now, SURVIVALIST need to flesh themselves out from the herd and establish more of an identity, or at least better utilise their clean vocals.
Rating: 5/10
For Those Who Suffer, Alone is out now via Seek & Strike.
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