Lifelearner
Born From Ashes
•
January 3, 2015

With Christmas over for those who celebrate it, and 2015 about to roll in, it seems a time worthy of celebration. I for one cannot think of a better soundtrack than some thoroughly average Metalcore. Ok, I am being sarcastic, it's a bad way to celebrate and Metalcore has only very rarely been anything more than mediocre - in my own humble opinion.
BORN FROM ASHES are a five-piece form Northampton, UK. Their music is as predictable as most Metalcore, with a half-arsed aggression to it. There's very little variation to it, and the biggest problem is when they do liven it up a bit it sounds far more vibrant and engaging. Final track "Eisenhower" is testament to this, there's some noticeable variation with dynamics and the Guitar is allowed to add a little more melody to the otherwise dull and uninspiring rhythm that pervades throughout the album. "Eisenhower" is the best track on the album by a considerable distance.
A further example of this is the chorus for "Greater Souls", the guitars are allowed to fully sing and it fills out the music so much, it's made more interesting and alive. These flashes are sadly all we are treated to. Which makes listening to "Lifelearner" incredibly infuriating. They are so close to achieving something that would sound so much better, but will they?
All in all this record is built upon the overly rigid blueprint for Death or Metalcore including breakdowns, stop & start guitar style and bass being allowed to the fore. The production is clean as a whistle (no bad thing), and for the most part the entire thing feels a bit like it's just passing through, with no real desire to properly sit down and affect the listener in any way.
Even for the most diehard Metalcore fan this record feels like it would satisfy temporarily, but the replay factor in it is severely limited. There's glimpses of the right direction, but no more than that, one can only hope that these glimpses become much more regular.
<
5 / 10
Mediocre

"Lifelearner" Track-listing:
1. Arrival
2. Proven
3. Greater Souls
4. Home
5. Eisenhower
Born From Ashes Lineup:
Keagan McGill - Vocals
Andy Humphries - Guitar
Ethan Ejdowski - Bass
Alex Day - Drums
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