Idle Class – Of Glass and Paper

album by:
Idle Class

Reviewed by:
Rating:
4
On 2 October 2015
Last modified:2 October 2015

Summary:

Munster, Germany's modern melodic metalcore act Idle Class has a new, eleven track disc out, titled Of Glass and Paper.

Idle Class - Of Glass And Paper - album cover art

Munster, Germany is the hometown of modern melodic metalcore act Idle Class. The band’s newest album, Of Glass and Paper, contains eleven tracks of melodic, fairly fizzy music.

This particular breed of music is oft panned as “the screamo stuff”. Wildly popular for heavy music, metalcore enjoys working with a lot of the sounds that underpin heavier music, like extreme metal. The screamed vocals of modern hardcore, coupled with the distorted, heavy-gain guitars from heavier metal realms characterize some of the genre.

As one of these metalcore acts, Idle Class walks their party line with little deviation. Of Glass and Paper has a clean, contemporary mix and mastering job that brings all of the band’s intended sounds right to a listener’s ears. There is no struggle to understand undertones, other then some of the bass guitar lines. The songs themselves have some interesting moments, breaks, and nice momentum builds. Drums are a focal point. Most vocals are screamed with the “always on eleven” dynamic. There are some ‘clean singing’ type vocals though, and those provide a different texture to their tunes. The rough, unpolished carriage is deliberate – sort of a third generation reflection to old hardcore punk and punk rock.

Something that’s a little strange is the yelling during much quieter passages, but again, this is art and that’s the band’s intent. The bass guitar is fairly buried. The guitars are melodic and pretty sizzling on the distortion. The songs don’t really have a heavy punch or bite, at least not to ears used to listening to death metal. It’s just sort of pleasant.

Modern melodic metalcore and music along that vein seems to have wide appeal to millenial-generationals and younger. Idle Class is forging its name in this genre, and seems to have some passion and excitement for their art. Of Glass and Paper is probably going to sound even more exciting live, when a little more bass and distortion occur naturally as part of the ‘live’ setting. Time will tell. In the meantime, check out this album if you’re looking for more “screamo stuff”, used here as a term of endearment.

Track listing:
The Drama Continues
All Kippers and Curtains
A Puppeteers Party
Outatime
I Used to Say It’s Just a Phase
Bring in the Harvest
Worn out Shoes
The Story of How the King Died
Testimony
Paper over the Cracks
The Sound of Glaciers Calving

Links:
Official Band Facebook Page
Official Band Twitter Page

Munster, Germany's modern melodic metalcore act Idle Class has a new, eleven track disc out, titled Of Glass and Paper.

About Iris North

My formal position is: editor and music reviewer. I joined the PlanetMosh army in 2012. I enjoy extreme metal, 'shred' guitar, hard rock, prog rock, punk, and... silly pop music!