Photo by: DeanX Photography
The final breath of March saw Dutch metallers The Royal release their sophomore album via Longbranch/SPV, an emotional and technical cauldron of melodic metalcore which is simply hard to ignore. The Eindhoven hailing quintet is being talked of with big expectations for their future and through their second full-length, Seven it is easy to see why.
Formed in 2012, The Royal has proceeded to breed and earn a potent reputation at home and further afield year by year. Their first year saw the release of the Origins EP with the well-received single Blind Eye coming a year later. Debut album Dreamcatchers further pushed the band into broader attention with its unveiling in 2014 whilst live the five-piece has drawn plaudits, the band going on to support the likes of Architects and Breakdown Of Sanity and play events such as Jera On Air and the Impericon Festival. Seven though just might be the wake-up call to bigger and greater opportunities; certainly its eventful and resourceful exploits deserves a moment with the metal world’s attention.
The album opens up with Thunder, a track living up to its title. Stormy clouds gather as the track settles into place, riffs respectfully but menacingly harrying the senses before wiry grooves erupt and vein its increasingly tempestuous climate. Soon the song hits its virulent stride, rhythms an imposing trespassing on the senses as the guitars snarl and weave their creative textures within the ebb and flow of the assault. All the while vocalist Semuel Pisarahu boils with emotional ire and open antipathy, a scowling hue equally striking in the web of enterprise, melodic suggestiveness, and raw aggression getting the album off to a mighty start.
Its mix of flavours is another potent aspect to the song and matched within the following Feeding Wolves. Its first touch is a melodic gentleness though soon joined by the low key but open grumble of Loet Brinkmans’ bass and the meaty jab and roll of Tom Van Ekerschot’s beats. As Pisarahu growls, the track erupts into another hellacious yet inviting tempest speared by a predacious swing and spicy grooves. As in the first song, guitarists JD Liefting and Pim Wesselink reveal themselves as comfortable seducing ears with warm melodies as they are ravaging them with bracing and abrasive hostility, their imagination and craft adding to the inventive unpredictability of the song and indeed album.
The mercurial character of the second track similarly grabs the imagination; a quality all songs have in varying degrees. Next up Wildmind is less changeable, more a persistent blaze of irritable jaundice but also flowing through creative twists and turns. Though not quite matching up to the first pair in igniting the passions, it leaves satisfaction full and appetite hungry for the proposals offered next by Creeds And The Vultures and Counterculture. The first has a mean-spirited air to its attitude and touch but one tempered by the maze of winding grooves and captivating melodies wrapping the vocal tension whilst its successor and the band’s new single rocks with relish while also creating a web of melodic enticement and vitriol lit dynamics, rhythmically and sonically. There is a toxic and intoxicating depth to its body, keys a hug of beauty, guitars a kaleidoscope of intent and endeavour as Pisarahu leads the raw vocal roar.
From the melancholy drenched atmospheric instrumental Interlude, the album’s title track has ears and imagination entwined, instantly too as its opening guitar twang flirts with instincts before they are infested by a glorious net of rapacious grooves. Another song which is rock ‘n’ roll at heart and carnivorous in persona, it crawls into the psyche; colouring its realms with fluttering melodies and animalistic textures. Middle Eastern spices only add to its majesty, the track emerging as quite simply aural captivation.
Life Breaker unleashes its ravenous sinews and creative rancor next, though again beauty is as prevalent in its physical nature as emotional discord while Thalassa is an invasive animus of sound and emotion which, without skimping on sonic light, is a darker, more vindictive enmity. Both tracks hit the spot, the former dead centre, before Draining Veins gives its melody woven volcano a friction of vocal and rhythmic tension which boils to inhospitable crescendos across its ever shifting and provocative soundscape.
The album closes with Viridian, a song epitomising the fluid ability of the band to tap into and blend contrasting emotions and textures whilst simultaneously challenging and stirring the listener. It is also a mighty collusion of sonic flirtation and predacious alienation bringing the album to an impressive end.
There are times when, on the surface, tracks share similar essences and personalities to other songs but attention and time defuses any apparent sameness. What emerges, is a creatively immense and thoroughly enjoyable proposition which, for appetites of bands like August Burns Red, While She Sleeps, and Northlane, of metalcore which wants to push itself, is a definite must check out.
Seven is out now via Longbranch/SPV. All links available @ https://theroyal.lnk.to/Seven
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Pete RingMaster 05/04/2017
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
The release opens with Scavengers. A steely shimmer initially coaxes ears, senses strapping riffs soon following as rhythms and guitars grumble around the plaintive vocal roar of Rob Lea. That djent styled essence is equally as swift infecting song and satisfaction, the guitars of Matt Dennison and Jonathan Prince creating a spiky attitude and touch in their emerging weave of enterprise. Strapped to the muscular grouch of Shaun Kirtland’s bass and the animosity loaded swings of drummer Mike Hill, the track is a formidable introduction to the EP; not necessarily unique but relentlessly exhilarating.
It is a craft and prowess which applies to all songs within the release to be fair, the following Darkest Hour swift confirmation as a great growling bassline from Kerton and the merciless swings of drummer Connor Tate link up with the harmonious delivery of Paterson and the emotive melodies which embrace ears. A fiery solo only adds to the imposing yet captivating drama shaping the song, again each minute a cauldron of enterprise breeding new adventures with every encounter.
Influences to the band are said to include the likes of Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa, Architects, and Slaves; many you can sense across the EP starting with RosaRosa. A lone guitar teases initially as skittish beats surround its distant tempting, that bait soon full in ears as its enterprise swiftly expands. Vocalist Franck.D quickly makes a strong impression with his emotively varied tones whilst the guitars of Vincent.P and Anthony.C dance with sonic suggestiveness on the imagination. It is a highly pleasing start which only strengthens as band and song weave recognisable post hardcore textures into their own adventure.
The press release suggests that the band switching to 8 string guitars has been a new spark to their sound and invention; whether it has or not, all that matters is that Winters is a full-on tempest of persuasion from first breath to last. The EP starts with its title track and straight away is grumbling in ears through the predatory bass of Andy Crawford, it a grouchy provocateur within a surge of wiry guitar. The hefty swings of drummer Liam Perez show no light in their nature either with each beat a shuddering impact as guitarists Mark Byrne and Paul Doughty weave more compelling bait for vocalist John Eley to spring from with great diversity. Just as musically the release ticks all the boxes so does the attack of the frontman, his fluid mix of clean, punkish, and outright raw hostility equally accomplished and perfectly measured in the split of all his strains of potency.
One of the prime reasons for that missed opportunity feeling is that despite the obvious talent and craft on show within the band, the EP lacks a certain spark to immediately elevate it out of the writhing throng of similarly sounding, genre bred bands. Close focus reveals they do have the imagination but in a time where attention in music is at best a fleeting breath in so many, Seconds Alive have not yet discovered, certainly here, that swift ‘hook’ to standout right away. The other element we would suggest the band might gain by looking into is the vocals. We have read many landing blows of displeasure upon the delivery of Robert Doran, something we cannot align to, the frontman has a good presence and attack but does, with great raw expression and emotion, only and repetitively offer exactly what is assumedly wanted in their raw style of music. The issue is again that his delivery easily slips into the crowd at the moment, another with an attack which never ventures too far from the caustic roar that as a style is becoming expectation feeding and thus frustratingly predictable for personal tastes. Hopefully though, the fact that Bitter Moments truly comes alive and steps out of the shadows when a diversity of vocals is released to match the busy sounds around them will not escape him and the band and spark adventure in that area ahead.
It opens with Deserved Freedom, an instantly arousing sonic bellow which does take its time setting up the senses before launching a ravenous rhythmic assault within a web of guitar causticity and enterprise. It is an imposing assault which, even in its more even tempered moments, is a ravenous proposal driven by the excellent belligerent roars of Voestermans. Within the first blaze of melodic toxicity and bracing brutality, a contagious quality soaks the varied textures of imagination, some loud and vocal within the tempest and some a fascinating squirm in the belly of the hardcore fuelled storm. It is an outstanding start resonating in ears and thoughts after its departure and whipping up a hungry appetite to hear more in its wake.