PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
The problem with this EP is epitomized at the very beginning of the closing track, ‘Drowning In Atlantis’, when vocalist Stephen ‘Fire Breather’ Caffrey screams out the title as if introducing it on stage… said scream says volumes about the lack of imagination which has plagued metalcore in the recent past.
Having thought that this particular genre had more or less bypassed the island of Ireland, it is somewhat of a personal disappointment to find that there are a few exponents of it lurking in darkened corners – in the case of NAE, the alleyways of Dublin.
Don’t get me wrong (and I’ve said this on many occasions, both here and elsewhere): metalcore was quite inventive, even innovative when it first emerged onto the scene around a decade ago, breathing new life into metal as a whole and taking it to new audiences. Fortunately, a few of the acts (and their fans) have moved on, pushing the genre and tweaking it: unfortunately, many others have been content just to cruise along, ride the coat tails of those who went before them (and this, of course, is not a problem confined to the metalcore generation, but has been endemic of music since its inception).
Equally, unfortunately, for someone who has been a lifelong champion of the high quality of music consistently produced on the island of Ireland, NAE fall very firmly into the latter category and this EP adds nothing new to a scene already cluttered with also-rans and wannabes: it would be my ardent hope that this Dublin quartet can shake off such tags and move forward, but for the moment, the best way I can summarize is thus… if you like metalcore, and particularly the likes of Parkway Drive and Hero In Error, then you’ll quite possibly cream your jeans over this; if you can take or leave the genre, then you’ve got a 50/50 choice in front of you – and, if you hate it, then you’ll most likely give it a bye ball….
Personally, it’s a reasonable stab at a genre I find has out-stayed its welcome: [4/10].
Track list:
- Left For Dead
- Ours Is The Fury
- Speaking In Metaphors
- Drowning In Atlantis
‘A Grand Deception’ is self-released and is available from http://newageextinction.bandcamp.com/
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