Final Prayer - "I Am Not Afraid" Review (Let it Burn Records)

Genre: Brutal/Street Hardcore

Location: Berlin, Germany

Band Website: http://www.finalprayer.de/

Label: http://letitburn.de

Through years of solid work Final Prayer have managed to establish themselves as kingpins of German (and why not, European) heavy hardcore scene. Yes, I am glad cause in this world of uncertainty at least I know what to expect from a FP album: groovy beats, heavy guitars, mean vocals and all the ingredients that make for a brutal, streetwise hardcore record. But watch out, the surprise on this album is that FP pack a lot of catchy parts (still heavy, don't worry) and memorable songs.

While Final Prayer plunder and pillage with their heavy-ass, beatdown-flavored hardcore action, it's like they pack the Midas touch this time around; I say this because every song is special, every song has character and  something unique to it. This record is mature, it is clever and catchy and and at the same time it is loyal to its roots and full of attitude. FP is not another band pretending to be tough and using the same old ingredients, on the contrary they have a lot of imagination and have made a record that goes beyond the fashions and cliches of today's scene. I bet that I will be able to listen to I am Not Afraid some 5 years later and derive the same pleasure from it as I do today. It's the type of HC that can stay untouched by the wrath of time.

You can understand that there is no necessity to talk about the quality of the production and so on; you and I both know that on a Final Prayer album and a Let it Burn Records release, shit like that is always meticulously delivered and this is also the case here. The production sound is huge, crystal-clear and thankfully for this style, not too metallic.

If you care about the hardcore scene and what it represents, I guess that this record will hardly escape you. You will meet somewhere along the way. If you are into hardcore for real, you will understand and become friends with the integrity delivered on I Am Not Afraid. It contains the essence that has always brought together fans of this music and lifestyle from around the world; it's the force that unites all of us with one common parameter, and that parameter is living by the rules of hardcore. While I listen to this record, I can imagine the cloudy Berlin skies and the city concrete that these hardcore dudes step on. Now it's taken on a worldwide level.

Record Reviews: THE SOUTHERN ORACLE - "Hellwakening" (Let It Burn Records)

The Southern Oracle is a band which juggles brutal metalcore and deathcore with such precision and technicality, that will surely delight the needs of most modern metal (and some hardcore) fans.

Hellwakening is indeed a hell of an album. It's filled with heavy metallic riffs and stompy beatdowns that succeed one in other in a very relentless and warlike manner. There is enough speed, heaviness and ferocity spat out, which will have you going for the "repeat" many times over as a result. Maybe at first, this album is a bit of a handful and sounds a bit long for the inexperienced listener, because of all the complex riffs and constant changes in the songs (and the slight lack of catchiness). However, there is no letting up by these Hungarians; just merciless metalcore pounding! What this actually means is that you have to work on the record by giving it your time and attention. In other words, it's a solid, mature, real metal record.

A thing you shouldn't be looking for in this record is clean vocals. These Hungarian dudes keep it heavy all the way through and resist going out like the majority of metalcore bands, which can't resist the pop element (i.e. The Devil Wears Prada, We Came As Romans etc). Therefore albeit having their melodic riffs, this album often departs from metalcore territory and kind of dwelves more into technical deathcore stuff. In a way, it transcends both these genres. Some of the riffs are melodic and technical, while others are more proper death metal oriented. There is something for everyone (except the emo kid).

This album also has a nice production that takes it away from the usual beatdown and metalcore stuff, and roots it firmly in a more metallic tradition. Therfore, fans of The Haunted and Heaven Shall Burn will definitely enjoy this more than fans of whatever modern metalcore is the flavor of the day out there. Nevertheless, there is enough beatdown to keep all the beatdown junkies satisfied, for sure. Add some nice layers of horror atmosphere, guest vocals by Darkest Hour and Bridge To Solace members, great looking artwork by Dyer Baizley (or someone else?), and you get a very enticing package indeed.

http://hu-hu.facebook.com/thesouthernoraclehu

UPs: Awesome production, very high technical skills, good exchange of dual vocals (high and low pitched), decent amount of brutality.

DOWNs: Not enough innovation going on here, not very catchy or memorable enough songs.

LOWDOWN: Technical but mature metalcore/deathcore for the metal fan.