Style: Heavy/Metalcore/Hard Rock (mixed vocals)
Review by: Matt
Country: Canada
Release date: 04-09-2020
There are albums that I disagree with in principle, albums that don’t suit my (highly refined) tastes… and then there’s things that are just primally unpleasant to listen to. I try to approach the former more neutrally, but man, if Living the Mist doesn’t annoy you, we must be living on different planets.
Broadly, this is modern heavy metal with belted female vocals. It’s tough to pin down the influences – there’s a definite 2000s alternative metal/metalcore vibe here, though it’s sometimes very rockish and melodic, and has a bit of progginess in the song structures. It feels like that mid-30s guitarist you know who likes Dream Theater, but also a bunch of bad Machine Head albums for some reason. Ok, that’s a matter of taste, but whatever ideal they were striving for, Voltaic haven’t reached it yet.
The biggest offense of the album shows itself immediately, with the male vocals that they perplexingly opened with. They’re so bad, I thought maybe I had grabbed some random guy’s Soundcloud demo with 3 views by mistake. These straight up don’t belong on a real album, sorry to say. Luckily, main vocalist Laura Abramyan is competent, though the songs probably don’t show her in her best light. The melodies have her coming across shrill and cartoony, abusing her high end in a way that often doesn’t fit the music (see: the chorus of “As One.” Ack!) The vocal lines are also riddled with cramped phrasing and inside-out syllables, so no matter who you got to sing it, it wouldn’t sound right. The couple of more ballady songs fare better, though the male vocalist shows up again to derail them with metalcore screams. His harsh vocals are actually pretty strong, but comedically out of place at times. There’s potential here, but it’s currently a mess. Those are the most pressing issues, the things that make Living the Mist difficult to listen to.
Instrumentally, nothing here is offensive, but there’s a certain beginner-ish air to the proceedings. The riffs are overly simplistic, they like to use clunky fifth harmonies that don’t sit quite right, the solos are a sloppy faux-shred, etc. The band members are all decent enough, but they sound immature. I don’t know their musical story, but that’s the vibe I get. At least the bass tone is great, as is the overall mix. Suffice to say, it doesn’t make up for most of the album being pretty irritating.
It takes a certain competence to even carry a proper record to term, which is why it’s jarring when an otherwise legitimate-sounding album contains things like “Brothers in Arms” or the middle part of “Timeline.” I won’t mince words: This is bad… almost certainly the worst thing I’ve reviewed. Yet, maybe quality is within reach for this band. There’s a long road ahead, but they can instantly improve around 300% by reworking their vocal approach, at the very least.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do what I do after every sub-4 review: disconnect my phone and leave town for a couple weeks.
Recommended tracks: Fahrenheit 25, Outside the Window
Recommended for fans of:
Final verdict: 2/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook
Label: Independent
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