ALBUM REVIEW: Greater Than – SHVPES

Melodic hardcore briefly loses its venom for SHVPES’ second full-length. By nature, the Birmingham bruisers’ genre prescribes unbridled rage delivered with conviction but unfortunately for the quintet, Greater Than periodically sheds its attitude when branching into slow-paced urban hip hop inflections. That said, its heavy moments are utterly devastating and instrumentally definitive. As hard as it is to avoid the family connections of front man Griffin Dickinson, his father Bruce’s trademark vocal range clearly runs in the genes for the most part.

Opener Calloused Hands wastes no time in taking things from 0-60 with a belting melodic groove and Dickinson’s voice box taking its rightful centre stage. “It’s like Murder She Wrote,” belts Dickinson’s ode to ITV3 through the sassy Undertones, coming out on top with its crushing lows and breathtaking highs, framed by some phenomenal blast beats from sticks-man Harry Jennings. Through the contagious anthem of Afterlife, the gradual presence of semi-raps feel well-timed and cleverly produced, alongside the rapid fire of Someone Else’s confrontational corker.

However, you could be forgiven for thinking Two Wrongs, No Rights had rolled into this album purely by mistake, perhaps left to roll off the shelf from a Kendrick Lamar record. Sadly though, this out of sync key change is fully intentional, along with its fellow glacial pace feature I’m Stuck and the directionless Renegades. Luckily, only three tracks are infected but these ill-fitting moves dull a lot of the album’s shine purely by their placement sandwiched between some gargantuan tracks.

Luckily, they’re followed swiftly by the return of the heavy thanks to a guest spot from TRIVIUM’s Matt Heafy through the pummelling Rain. Combined with the neat melodics of Hey Brother showcasing the five-piece’s talents when they all come together, axeman Ryan Hamilton’s swirling riff throughout Note To Cell brings the tempo back where it belongs with a defiant “we’re not criminals.” Closer Counterfeit packs the heaviest punch of all, bursting with character and spitting fire left, right and centre, Dickinson delivers the harshest hardcore burn of recent years – “your mother should’ve swallowed you.”

If you can grit your teeth through the three painful misfires, SHVPES‘ heavy moments are Greater Than most and it’s clear there’s talent hidden behind the amps. Better luck next time, lads.

Rating: 6/10

Greater Than is set for release on November 9th via Search and Destroy/Spinefarm Records.

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