Attention has been place on the Iowa metalcore act For Today appearing that they are just another bolt on this subgenre machine. We take a look why they are standing out in the band’s brand new studio album, ‘Wake‘
[tracklist]
01. No Truth, No Sacrifice
02. Broken Lens
03. Forced Into Fire
04. Deserter
05. Bitter Roots
06. Wasteland
07. Hopeless Ambition
08. Determination
09. Flooded Earth
10. Time And Tide
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Nuclear Blast[/record_label]
[release_date]October 2nd, 2015[/release_date]
[/details]
I too am one of those people who thinks that metalcore is a completely stale subgenre. What started out as an interesting crossover genre has been at the helm of producing angsty, monotone groups that are all part of cogs in a marketing machine. Nothing in the genre has really impressed me in recent times, much so that I have pretty much written the genre off as having anything worth listening to. You know exactly what the band will sound like, and it simply isn’t worth the money.
While For Today’s ‘Wake‘ is something that would have slipped into that category, something caught my attention about this album that deemed it worth a listen, that being that the band signed to European giant label Nuclear Blast. For a label that is famous in pumping out some of the finest talent in metal, it is interesting that they have taken the decision to sign this band, and that they must have something unique to offer…
That becomes fairly apparent in the beginning of the track ‘No Truth, No Sacrifice‘. Augmented atmospheric chords with ethereal bending to provide a haunting introduction to the band, and then suddenly a flurry of heavy riffs and speed drumming. The track offers every unique element of what For Today are offering with their brand of metalcore, and I must say that a sound like this takes a lot of thought, and is incredibly commendable.
Yes the album features those traditional metalcore elements – breakdowns both augmented and open note, harmonised licks, riffs that spam the first three notes of the first strings and extreme drumming. However on ‘Wake‘, For Today have gone to extraordinary lengths to make this sound their own, evident on the track ‘Broken Lens‘ that is blatently a metalcore track with it’s angst ridden lyrics and vocals, but has an incredible atmosphere that manages to haunt with the underlying guitar work being unconventional using ringing delayed chords instead of the traditional metalcore licks. It is very well thought out, and very well executed.
It’s not until the album reaches the last three tracks when the songwriting becomes extremely impressive, with the track ‘Determination‘ standing out in using the unique elements For Today have introduced to you, and create a massive hit sound in the chorus while keeping the metalcore sound alive in the verses and bridges. The final two tracks ‘Flooded Earth‘ and ‘Time & Tide‘ stand out in the album and serve as the climax that gets progressively better as it goes on.
I didn’t realise that anybody could be creative in metalcore anymore. Any band that adopts the genre really knows what they are getting into, but For Today have suddenly set a massive bar for bands to look up to. Not that it ever will, but ‘Wake‘ is an album that should kick off a new evolution in the metalcore sound, and now we know it is possible to actually write some great music in this subgenre. So a huge salute of respect to For Today – they have produced an album that is quite possibly the shock of 2015 for me!
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]In an age where metalcore is all but stale, For Today have managed to make an extraordinary album inventing diverse elements with atmospheric guitar work over traditional metalcore elements. It works brilliantly.[/why]
