EP REVIEW: Severance – Only The Righteous
The clean vs distorted vocal, tremolo-fuelled metal we saw around a decade ago is sometimes sniffed at by the more seasoned or now grown up extreme music fans. It’s a shame, as some bands are still smashing this sound with added new touches that are often neglected by the wider scene. The past two years have seen ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS play alongside LOATHE, LOTUS EATER, BLOOD YOUTH and more with just a few tracks under their belt. Now, they debut their first EP, Severance, saluting millennium metal, all the while auditioning more broad-scope influences.
Severance opens up with I, a near-minute of feedback and obscurities with a static radio-like noise that drops into opening track Late Nights With Bukowski. If anything, I is just a tease and unnecessary build up to the headbangers.
Bukowski opens with a 00s vibe metalcore riff reminiscent of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. But don’t slam your breaks on in hesitance just yet; because that nostalgia trip only lasts a few moments before the second guitar and drums come into throttle the track. This seems like a perfect and very calculated choice for the opening track. It’s very accessible, easy-going metalcore. The clean vocals pay homage to those classic anthemic metal tracks from your youth without touching the novelty clichés of deep brooding vocals or nasal whining. This track is a crowd-pleaser for all. It’s a tempter for the rest of the EP where things start to kick off with a bit more barbarity.
What We Could Have Been is a great choice for a single release for this band. It’s got the infamous metalcore duality of clean and distorted vocals, carrying the track through a dominant lead. It’s catchy, and displays those bouncy beats with intricate guitar lines cutting through the blasting drums. Confusingly, ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS are compared to FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND and associated with the post-hardcore label. This EP is a far cry from the likes of FFAF’s new-wave inflections, or any post-hardcore fusions of intensity. This is a straight up metalcore release. There is nothing wrong with that, maybe metalcore isn’t ‘cool’ anymore. But Severance pays tribute to one of the most influential movements in guitar-music of the last couple decades. Their influences also list WHILE SHE SLEEPS, BURY TOMORROW and ARCHITECTS – now that makes sense. May we suggest adding BEARTOOTH or WE CAME AS ROMANS?
Her Last Goodbye steers more towards a feverish head-bobber, with layered vocals that deliver nuances of infectious anthemic rock. Both this track and the next, Raise Your Glass, see the vocals blaze these almost spoken parts, which arguably do interrupt the course of the track a bit. Final track, Betrayal, however, redeems that. The pre-chorus’ vocals mixed with riff-heavy leads is almost reminiscent of A DAY TO REMEMBER’s For Those That Have Heart. Out of the entire EP, this is the track that will make you want to move. We finally see a chuggy breakdown that storms back into that catchy clean chorus. This is the track the gives this band a real fire in their kick.
Severance lives in a constant state of a wavering scales. One side is generic but timeless sonorous sound; the other is slightly more daring, liberal attempts of blending new influences. There’s something nostalgic about ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS‘ music. It captures those noughties metalcore vibes of clean-chorus singalongs and heavy riffage. Yet underlying that, is spoken-word experimentation, almost emo-fused lyrics and discordant interruptions. At times, however, this does feel let down by the production on this release. It’s a mix that will provide a gateway for some into expanding their listening habits and leave others sitting on the fence. What Severance has done however, is create curiosity for their future work, as we may be seeing a project that could veer off into any direction.
Rating: 7/10
Severance is out now via self-release.
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