Death In BloomA Means To Disappear

Independent
October 14, 2016
5
Elements of success are there

Melbourne’s Death In Bloom are another group attempting to take the mantle of local metalcore favourites with their debut record A Means To Disappear. It’s a shame Polaris’ The Guilt and The Grief EP beat them to the punch 10 months ago. War Cry and Regress bear more than passing similarities. There’s not too much here to differentiate Death In Bloom from other metalcore groups that have graced the scene in recent times. The band still sound like they’re a local act by repeating the same kick drum/chug pattern over and over throughout the record. The influence of Architects is no secret here with Vessels taking a leaf out of their ‘driving chug’ book.

The elements for success are all present; the band just need a bit more coaxing from the mould to get there.

Animal Kingdom at least throws a tech rhythm in for variation. The panned guitar feels like it could’ve built to something much more, but then we’re back to the same breakdown as before. Death In Bloom’s clean vocals are some of the highlights on this record though. The album’s best track Homecoming arrives right at the end with a soaring chorus that’s puzzling, mainly because it shows more initiative than the songs that precede it. How this type of ‘Dream On Dreamer meets Confession’ blend didn’t appear more throughout the record is anyone’s guess. Collapse hints at the band’s ability to mix clean vocals behind rhythmic sections but it’s masked by overbearing double kicks. Making an impression in metalcore nowadays isn’t easy, and A Means To Disappear feels like a paint by numbers effort. The elements for success are all present; the band just need a bit more coaxing from the mould to get there.

Stick This Next To: Architects, Polaris, Dream On Dreamer
Standout Tracks: Homecoming, Collapse, The Fever


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