Tag Archives: melodic metalcore

Stitched Up Heart Are “Finally Free” In New Video

Logo - Stitched Up Heart

I’ve been a bit of a behind the scenes fan of the band Stitched Up Heart for a couple of years now based on my true enjoyment of their musical output that I first heard on their self-titled EP which was reviewed on the PiercingMetal website HERE. While that has been on the site for awhile and I truly need to add more of their works to the review database this single few tunes easily brings you into their world and with my seeing the band at long last in concert on Sunday, I wanted to share their recently released video “Finally Free” with the Metal Masses. Check it out below and then we can banter a little bit.

Official Press:
“STITCHED UP HEART have forged their path in sheer passion and earned their keep in physicality and volume. Both on the road and in the studio, frontwoman Mixi and the Los Angeles-based quintet face 2016 and their forthcoming Another Century debut with brazen confidence. “Finally Free” is the clarion call for the band’s day of reckoning. Recorded by producer Mitch Marlow and captured on video by director Ron Underwood (also known as the high-flying frontman for labelmates, 9ELECTRIC), “Finally Free” delivers on the promise hinted at on their self-released EP, Skeleton Key. Stitched Up Heart’s days of self-booked national van tours and Mixi being a Revolver “Hottest Chicks” mainstay was merely the beginning. Driven by a new level of sonic confidence and topped with the frontwoman’s soaring vocal verve, it’s the sound of a band unapologetically coming into its own”.
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“Live” by All That Remains

Artist: All That Remains
Title: “Live”
Label: Prosthetic Records
Release Date: 10/30/2007
Genre: Melodic Metalcore
Rating: 4/5

When it comes to naming a superpower in the Melodic Metalcore genre you would be ill advised not to name All That Remains as one of the top acts of the day. It’s true without any doubt and the band seems to have achieved this level of status in a very short amount of time. While they were doing well with their debut album “The Silence And The Solitude”, it wasn’t until “The Fall Of Ideals” was released that they seemed to have become a household name as a vital force in the genre. Sold out concerts in every geographic region that they visit and each show is an absolute melee of humanity that crowd surfs, stage dives, and just gets “into it” in whatever fashion that the music moves them to entertain. The album itself broke records and the band gained more and more loyal fans and upward momentum. Clearly they were onto something and were serving the needs of a hungry Metalcore audience. Having seen them perform I can see why this is the case because the group seems to be as into this on the stage as the fans who are watching them and that alone makes having a live performance DVD something that’s totally cool. “Live” features the band on their very first DVD release and rather than give you one show and some outtakes the folks in ATR give you two full shows, a bunch of their videos and a ton of extra footage that makes this a really entertaining couple of hours.
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“Only Once Imagined” by The Agonist

Artist: The Agonist
Title: “Only Once Imagined”
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 8/20/2007
Genre: Melodic Metalcore
Rating: 4/5

When the listener first puts on the Century Media Records debut release from Montreal’s The Agonist and realizes that this is yet another Melodic Metalcore band that’s fronted by a beautiful female vocalist they might jump the gun on them and mumble “oh no not again”. It would be a valid thought had the group fallen into the same old, same old mold which they very fortunately do not manage to do on the album. Right off the bat we find the lovely Alissa White-Gluz handling almost a dual personality in terms of her vocal powers all across the recording and at times she is a raging inferno that calls to mind Angela Gossow (Arch Enemy) and Nergal (Behemoth) while at others has one of the most melodic and pleasing clean voices that I have heard in awhile. Hopefully she doesn’t mind the referencing and who could actually complain about being likened to two of the most imposing vocal identities in modern Metal today. These diverse vocals on top of some really aggressive music seems to work out well and the band ends up delivering an intense album that not only makes sure to kick your ass but also aims to make you a little more socially aware as a result. Yes there is some level of political and socio-economic awareness being sung about in the songs and I found it added a little more depth to them as a band.
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“Beautiful Tragedy” by In This Moment

Artist: In This Moment
Title: “Beautiful Tragedy”
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 3/20/2007
Genre: Melodic Metalcore
Rating: 4/5

To look at the CD cover from In This Moment, you might wonder if some weird Techno-Pop awaits you on the inside given the trippy, Raver girl cover photo of singer Maria Brink. What lies in wait on the inside however is a far different story and if you are a fan of the kind of stuff that bands like All That Remains and others who mix melody with bone-crushing Metal throttling then you are going to love this one. ITM’s “Beautiful Tragedy” takes the working mechanics of Melodic Metalcore and strengthens them by really playing up to Brink’s multiple vocal styles and ability and this works from the get go. “Beautiful Tragedy” is an incredible track and almost a righteous anthem that will have audiences singing along with fists raised high. There are a number of twists and turns where you don’t expect them like when “The Legacy Of Odie” starts out and appears to be the ballad of the recording but before you know it the crunching begins of twin lead guitarists Chris Howorth and Blaze Bunzel. The pair definitely shred and you can tell they have a little bit of schooling from the Gothenburg greats of the recent past by some of the riffing that they do here. “Ashes” just pounds and we owe some of the appeal of this track due to the crushing rhythm section of Jesse Landry and Jeff Fabb (bass and drums respectively). While Landry needs to hold things in place for the group to run loose you can tell that Fabb has no restraints as he pummels the drums and delivers some fine double kick drum all around the recording. I liked the aspect of the band trying a number of different genre aspects from slow and subtle to intense and aggressive. After all the tensions had been let out, they chose to close with an acoustic number “When The Storm Subsides” – and I felt that this showed just how diverse they can be in this early stage of the game.
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