‘Failure On’ actually came out last year on Solid State Records in the US, but Beloved has been given a UK helping hand after Golf Records picked them up. So while many of you may already have picked this release up, it’s been re-packaged with six extra tracks, making this quite a weighty record. To be honest this isn’t as hardcore as I expected it to be. There’s a hell of a lot of melody here, which has to be a good thing (in my books anyway). The bass drum kicks hard, the lead guitars are Thrice-esque in parts and the vocals really bite when they need too. It’s more Dead Poetic than Poison The Well, which to me was a surprise after the research I had done seemed to catapult them into the metalcore bracket.
While Beloved (US) (to give them their correct title) may not be the most original band around, they certainly do their thing very well indeed. Opener ‘Failure On My Lips’ and ‘Rise and Fall’ start off with melodic vocals and slow-burning guitars before ripping shreds with the shouty vocals, which really do growl. There’s no faux-emo screaming here, Beloved (US) are really pissed off and they mean it. The guitar tones are low and the drums really have a double kick to them that is impressive. ‘Defect From Decay’ also starts off on the quieter side, while the following track, ‘Watching The Lines Blur’, brings home the mosh. The breakdowns come at the right places, but whether they’re heavy enough to keep the purists happy is another thing. The guitar work throughout is impressive, relying not only on some thudding de-tuned riffs but also some intricate lead riffs. At times, like on ‘Insult To Injury’, the guitars have the same tone as Thrice, even if the two bands sound nothing like each other.
On the downside, over the course of 16 songs there isn’t really enough variety to keep me interested. The breakdowns do begin to wear a bit thin and become a little predictable, while most tracks outstay their welcome by lasting more than four minutes. This detracts from the overall quality as it can leave you feeling that you would prefer to look at your watch than listen on. Of course the more hardcore among you may still conceive this to be watered down shit, but I like bands that have melodies, whether they be pop-punk or hardcore, so this is always going to appeal to a wider audience. Beloved (US) do nothing that hasn’t been done before, but they do enough to warrant a listen.
www.belovedrock.com
Solid State Records/ Golf Records
Paul