PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
The aptly names Take Off sounds a little like it was recorded in an aircraft hanger situated in 
the middle of a graveyard, with spacious atmospheric electrics merged with strings. Way of Changes launch into heavy panning riffs a the start of Mistakes accompanied by the deep growling scream vocals of Simon Phildius. Looking at the press photo that accompanies this EP, I cannot pick which one is Simon, for his vocals conjure up an image of a man with waist length long hair that hasn’t been brushed for several days and with a beard to match, but instead there are five friendly looking guys who you could take home to meet your parents as your new friend Simon. Simon‘s screams sound more akin to heavier metal genres rather than metalcore and this may be their edge in this genre. The higher pitched of the backing vocals from Théo Dikötter and Eliot Colomb provides a vocal balance to Simons’ and there are strong chords throughout that are tight and I only hope that Way of Changes pull off this synchronisation as well on stage.
Counting Seconds appears to be a song about despair. Musically it is solid reliable metalcore, not straying to far from the genres comfort zone.
Dream Awake is faster and a good musical mix playing around again briefly with panning, a short guitar solo that flies across the rest of the mix and clean vocals. Thankfully the right sounds are allowed to shine through in the mix rather than being dominated by the china cymbal (one of my pet hates) which can take over in the live arena to the detriment of the band, so credit to the mixing engineer Vladimir Cochet here. A slightly more experimental track on the part of Way of Changes, without deviating too much from the metalcore foundation.
In & Out was the first track to be released from this EP in early autumn. A good choice, it is I would say the most commercial EP track that shows off what they have best. From their mixed vocals including the gutteral depths of Simon‘s screams, to gang and clean vocals, backed with their tight chords and some good guitar work from Eliot and Théo as well as pounding bass lines from Maxime Dessauges on bass and the thunderous Quentin Gobalet on drums.
For me the best track on the Honesty EP is the last Cuckoo. A song about the pain and suffering of someone seeing a loved one as an alcoholic. I love the delicate guitar part that opens this track and continues throughout the first minute of the song, this is very different from the rest of the EP.
Way of Changes clearly like the heavier sound and in this track they pull the whole thing off just right with guitar licks, mean chords and the clean vocals taking a more prominent place in the mix. This is a strong, sturdy end to the EP and what I would like to hear them do more of in the future.
