Released By : M & O Records
Genre : Operatic Metalcore
Links : http://www.myspace.com/gravitymetal
Tracklist:
01. Evasion
02. Violences
03. Souffrance
04. Obsession
05. Part 1 : Espace
06. Part 2 : Déphasé
07. Elle
08. La constante aléatoire
09. Le monde d’à côté
10. 437
In an age where music is all about sounding a particular way and imitating other bands as closely as possible in order to leech into a certain market, I have always tried my hardest to support band that like to do things a little differently. Sometime though, things are done differently, but in a way that I just can’t get into. This is certainly the case with this new album from French metalcore act GRAVITY. Metalcore music can be quite repetitive and bland most of the time and is a genre that has really stagnated quickly, but these guys decided to take the sound in a new direction by adding a female operatic-style singer, like a voice you would usually associate with symphonic power metal or operatic gothic metal.
The thing is, it just doesn’t work all that well and I actually found myself enjoying the more straightforward metalcore sections than those with the operatic vocals. Don’t get me wrong, I have been known to really enjoy releases in other genres with female operatic vocals, but it’s easier to handle when mixed in with some Euro sounding power metal or something like that rather than amidst a bunch of full-on aggressiveness like the typical metalcore sound.
There was a few moments that worked out okay with songs like VIOLENCES and PART 1:ESCAPE, but asides from the that the rest of the songs didn’t sit too well with me. Maybe it’s because the vocals are sung in French and I have absolutely no idea what they are singing about, but that doesn’t usually bother me much if there’s something for me musically so I guess not.
To those that are dedicated to bagging out metalcore music, just know that at least GRAVITY is attempting to do something interesting with it. Fans of the genre may well enjoy the change-up with the different vocals but I feel that SYNDROME will struggle to find a market and maybe it’s worth them just focusing on being a good French straight-metalcore band and forgetting the opera sounds.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 6/10