Novelists: Souvenirs

It's surprising to write that this is Novelists' first full-length release. The band has been rising in popularity and influence for a couple of years now but all their releases have either been EPs or singles. This release was highly anticipated and has so far received mostly positive reviews, even though some writers find the album too repetitive or too long. Fan response seems positive, but so much depends on whether or not you're a fan of grindcore or djent. I'm still not as comfortable with calling music by that tag—djent seems senseless to me, a tag that does very little to explain. Whatever djent is, there may be enough of a recognizable approach to this style that brings these bands together.

For a relatively new band, Novelists sounds like they've already mastered this style. The first half of the album definitely shows off the band's heavier style whereas the second half is slightly mellower and experimental. I found all the tracks technically proficient and was thrilled by the pyrotechnics both in the guitars and in the drums. I also enjoyed the melodic passages on the mellower tracks in the album's second half. Still, I've never preferred this style of heavy metal and this album did not convince me to change my mind. Nevertheless, Novelists writes some good melodic lines and their more intense moments are strong. The biggest drawback is the alternating vocal style, the kind that mixes clean and dirty vocals in ways that are too angry, too emotive, and too yearning. I've long believed that this particular style of singing was on its way out, but shows up on enough new releases that I must be wrong.

Fans of this style will love this album. Check out "Antares" for a representative track.

Track Listing:
1. Inanimate
2. Earth Graver
3. Gravity
4. Antares
5. Ouroboros
6. Black Lights
7. Voyager
8. Mouches Touchey
9. Echoes
10. 5:12 AM
11. The Lichtenberg Figure
12. Souvenirs
13. Twenty Years (Bonus)
14. Heartfelt (Bonus)

Added: May 10th 2016
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1628
Language: english

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