emillbulls_cover

Released by: AFM Records

Release Date: September 30th, 2014

Genre: Metalcore

Links: https://www.facebook.com/EmilBullsOfficial

Line Up:

Christoph v. Freydorf – Vocals
Stephan “Moik” Karl – Guitar, Backing Vocals
James Richardson – Bass, Backing Vocals
Andy Bock – Guitar, Backing Vocals

Tracklist:

1. The Grave
2. Hearteater
3. Pants Down
4. I Wanna Feel You
5. Rainbows and Butterflies
6. The Way of the Warrior
7. The Reckoning
8. The Age of Revolution
9. Sacrifice to Venus
10. Gone Baby Gone
11. Man Or Mouse
12. Keep On Dreaming
13. Behind the Sun

Metalcore is not a style I’m necessarily big on. Nor am I a fan of the current radio style of rock and metal. There are aspects I definitely like, for instance the metal part of it can be quite good. I also appreciate the more melodic tendencies of the genre. It’s the rougher vocals that tend to push me away. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you have the abilities to actually sing use it. I’m also not big on the whole current sound in the hard rock and metal world. A band that could potentially change my mind is out of Germany and is called Emil Bulls.

Apparently they have been around nearly two decades, but until now have not fallen on to my radar. Their latest offering Sacrifice To Venus didn’t sound like something that would be my cup of tea and almost passed it over. I’m glad I gave it a shot. I don’t love it, and I’m not sure it’s something I would listen to all of the time, but there were many instances that I found to be somewhat intriguing than what I typically would from this sort of band. Though musically it falls in line with fairly typical radio friendly metal with some “core” tendencies, the heaviness of it wasn’t what caught my ear. In fact, the more aggressive it was vocally the less I paid attention to it. Christoph von Freydorf has a really good clean voice when he actually sings. The aggressive stuff is monotone. Also when the music is faster and they utilize more gang style vocals they basically sound like every other band of this style like Linkin Park and Three Days Grace. The moments where they hone in on their melodic sound like “I Wanna Feel You” and “Gone Baby Gone” they sound more genuine. They still sound similar to many other bands, but they sound more honest to themselves.

So maybe I didn’t love this album, but I suppose I can see where others might give it a shot, if you enjoy the more alternative side to hard rock. I might be more interested in them if they went for a more melodic sound instead of the faux aggression. Even though it wasn’t my thing I still think there is a market for it so give it a shot and see what you think.

Written by Chris Martin