APATESpit You Out

Apate’s debut Pandora’s Box never really made any waves in the wake of its release. Their follow up Spit You Out is a marked improvement. “I know something that you don’t know,” is the EP’s best hook in Bone Syndrome. The title track’s nu metal vocals (similar to Korn and the like) are a better move than jamming low-tuned breakdowns into every moment. Jackal is very Alpha Wolf (they snuck out the gate first); unsurprising since they’re both part of the new wave of Australian heavy.

Apate are standing tall in the new crowd of heavy

The record doesn’t have the same vitality or variation that contemporaries Gloom In The Corner, who aren’t afraid to experiment outside of the norm, have brought to the table. However, Bitter Pill’s final breakdown has meat on its bones that others don’t. Apate are standing tall in the new crowd of heavy, but it’s not as packed as the metalcore wave that preceded it. To make themselves stand out, they’ll need to find a way to differentiate their sound once the imitators arrive.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Bitter Pill, Spit You Out, Jackal
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Alpha Wolf, Gloom In The Corner, Ocean Grove