Style: Metalcore (mixed vocals)
Review by: Jonah
Country: US-CA
Release date: 17-09-2018
NOTE: This album was originally included in the September 2018 issue of The Progressive Subway
So I need to make a few things clear before I start this one. First of all, I actively enjoy quite a few -core vocalists. Second, while BTBAM isn’t my favorite band in the world I have a lot of respect for their general songwriting. Third, someone in this band asked us to review this album (/u/blacklight58). With all this out of the way, it is with a heavy heart that I say that Hells, by The Creator, is absolutely the worst album I’ve reviewed since starting my assistance to Sam. I say this with a heavy heart because I can really, really see a good band in the bones here. It’s just not this one. Let’s break down why:
What caught my ear immediately upon listening to this album was how much this sounds like Between the Buried and Me. The guitar, the drumming, even the vocals (which we’ll get to in a second), all reminded me of BTBAM’s general sound in their early Alaska days. The difference is that while BTBAM’s sound wasn’t what I would call “polished” in those days, their songwriting chops were strong enough to make up for the ridiculous chaos that their sound entailed. Hells contains all of that chaos without half the songwriting knowledge, and it shows. It feels erratic, and often downright unpleasant to listen to, as the drums pound away behind needlessly noodly guitars and The Vocals.
Another quick detour here. I’m a vocalist. I do both clean and harsh vocals, and I think I’m a solid 6-7/10. I can carry a tune, my tone is clean when needed, and I can get some nasty snarls in. I’ve also been singing for upwards of 8 years and I wasn’t this happy with my voice until about a year ago. Why am I saying all of this? Because The Creator’s vocalist reminds me of myself around 4 years ago. Full of potential and lacking in any and all experience. His harshes have a nice Tech Death snap to them, and I think with a little honing they could be quite nice. My larger qualm is his cleans, as they are atonal and nearly unlistenable for a large portion of this album. There are moments where he carries a decent melody as long as the note he’s singing stays the same, but the second any semblance of vocal variation is needed his voice cracks or shifts completely out of tune. Also every single vocal passage on this album sounds almost directly out of a BTBAM song, which isn’t doing it any favors currently.
The drumming is incredibly technically competent, as are the guitars. Both are ALMOST enjoyable to listen to, but the end product, the entire sound of the band if you will, just feels disjointed and unpleasant most of the time. Also sometimes the guitars start djenting and I need them to stop doing that, it doesn’t belong here at all.
I wish The Creator the absolute best in their future, and I hope they can craft a sound that better suits their various talents (because they absolutely do have some talent, don’t get me wrong), but this album is definitely not that.
Recommended tracks: none
Recommended for fans of: BTBAM
Final verdict: 3/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook
Label: Independent
The Creator is:
– Alex Light
– Ade Porter
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