Though it's sure to be a hit with all the young metalcore fans, Severence, the latest from the UK upstarts known as Heart of a Coward, just sounds like an album we've all heard a hundred times before. Sure, there are some catchy melodies to be found here, and the band is certainly pissed off enough in spots to deliver the right amount of punishing breakdowns and overall brutality, but there have been so many bands doing this exact same thing for years now, that despite some bright moments it's hard to get too excited about what's on display. "Prey" has some hook laden vocal segments, and I like the weaving guitar patterns on the heavy hitting "Nauseam" as well as the mysterious yet heavy arrangements of the title track. But, this band just commits overkill with too many generic hardcore styled barks/shouts, the mandatory djent riff or poly-rhythm, or those 'same old same old' metalcore breakdowns. The clean vocal sections are actually the bright spots here, as well as some of the textured guitar patterns that actually seem to owe more to black metal & post rock than they do hardcore or death metal. Overall, Severance isn't anything you haven't heard before, but it is well done and I'm sure will suit a lot of people just fine.
Track Listing
1. Monstro
2. Prey
3. Distance
4. Nauseam
5. Deadweight
6. Eclipsed
7. Psychophant
8. Mirrors
9. Desensitise
10. Severance