ALBUM REVIEW: Hindsight – Emmure

EMMURE have made a career for themselves out of being the most divisive band in the room. Front man Frankie Palmeri‘s care-free attitude has permeated deathcore for nearly 15 years now, and regardless which side of the fence you sit on: EMMURE have their place firmly cemented in the genre’s history. Even with all that said though, as you take in the bands eighth record you start to wonder whether time has caught up with the quartet.

As you’d expect, Palmeri takes centre stage on Hindsight – his outlook is predictably bleak, with a large helping of his patented arrogance. Criticising his bravado sometimes borders contradiction, especially considering alternative music in general has been lacking in distinctive personalities for a while now. But when you hear him rattle off lyrics like “Hey man heard your band and that shit is rad, oops I lied, my bad, it’s fucking garbage” on Trash Folder, your patience for his brazen lyrical content thins.

Even with that said, Hindsight is theoretically exactly what you’d expect from EMMURE. Sure, more expansive tracks like Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth, and Demons With Ryu have made it into their arsenal over the years, but for the most part: Palmeri and co have been a one stop shop of brutal beatdowns underneath violent call outs. And that’s exactly what this record is – the quartet deliver 40 minutes of mosh calls and bass heavy thuds.

The problem here is that more so than any other EMMURE record, Hindsight is unbelievably one paced. Bar 203‘s ominous, whispering opening, the rhythmic patterns rarely seem to shift elsewhere. Former GLASS CLOUD guitarist Joshua Travis is criminally under utilised, and there’s an argument to be made that once you’ve felt the force filled guitar punch that is Pigs Ear – you’ve heard everything Hindsight has to offer. Tracks like Action 52 and Gypsy Disco are undoubtedly enticing in their relentlessly heavy escapades, but outside of the occasional pace shift, or spoken word vocals from Palmeri there’s an inescapable lack of identity in Hindsight‘s output.

Palmeri‘s lyrical jibes come out to haunt Hindsight again in the form of I’ve Scene God too. The name dropping of EMMURE‘s contemporaries in passages like “Say you STICK TO YOUR GUNS but you STRAY FROM THE PATH not a killa like ATTILA when you feel my fucking wrath” loses its impact before the song even reaches its climax. And the less said about his effort to recreate Jonathan Davis‘ scatter vocals on classic KORN track Freak On A Leash during Thunder Mouth the better, Hindsight‘s constant targeting of adolescence is often its downfall.

You can’t deny that Hindsight is fit for purpose, and it almost feels null and void to expect anything else from EMMURE. But even with that said, the four piece have never quite sounded this limited, predictable, and occasionally cringe worthy. As deathcore continues to be taken in a multitude of directions, the one EMMURE are driving down is starting to feel increasingly dated.

Rating: 6/10

Hindsight is out now via SharpTone Records. Physical release is set for release on July 24th.

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