In most cases, the age old saying holds true:  If It Ain't Broke, Don't Try To Fix It.  If you have a good system that's been working, deviating from that system often times does more harm than good.  As music lovers and fans of aggressive music, we have a tendency to encounter a band and immediately form opinions on why what a particular band is doing lacks originality or how earlier bands in the same genre or similar genres pioneered this style.  We like to say these newer bands are merely "cookie cutter bands" without acknowledging skill, technique, or musicianship as a whole.

It's actually pretty sad, because very often a band gets put into a box without a second thought when they really do deserve a bit more respect than that.  Post-hardcore outfit ROADS TO HORIZON are one of those bands that many people will listen to for about 45 seconds, and then disregard, claiming they've heard it before.  This would be a huge mistake, because despite the familiar sound in a heavily saturated genre, ROADS TO HORIZON actually have quite a bit of talent and can compose well written songs that are right at home in the post-hardcore/melodic hardcore style.

The quintet hail from Leeds, UK, and much like their fellow Brit-Core rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON, ROADS TO HORIZON bring a similar style of heavy guitars, catchy song writing, and a mix of clean vocals and guttural screams.  Again, you've heard this before from similar bands like OF MICE & MEN, ASKING ALEXANDRIA, WE CAME AS ROMANS, et al, and even if you're not a real fan of this sub-genre of hardcore, you'll know it when you hear it.

So how does ROAD TO HORIZON stand out in the sea of bands that sound like this?  Honestly, they don't.  They're simply very good at what they do, and the "Faultines EP" is a solid representation of the band's talent and song-writing skills.  The band's title track and current single "Faultlines" breaks right in, growing from a small spark and exploding into a firestorm.  Flockton's screams are on point, satisfying, and compliment the sound appropriately.  The clean vocals and harmonizing from McIntosh and Parkinson are well placed and fully illustrate their well trained singing voices, especially in tracks like "Victimised".  I'm sorry, but that chorus is excellent and I can't stop listening to it.  It's interesting, because years ago when bands like CHIODOS or COHEED AND CAMBRIA were big on the scene, fans were very tolerant of clean vocals that were slightly off, weak, or simply not on key. (I'm calling Geoff Rickley from Thursday out about that last one, circa Full Collapse...great album, but YIKES).  Obviously pulling influences from some of these earlier bands, ROADS TO HORIZON have made it clear that singing well is just as important as playing an instrument well.  This will be a very important and much played EP from fans new and old alike.

Say what you want about post-hardcore, "scene kids", or bands with trendy haircuts and tight clothes, but give credit where it's due.  No one argues with a painter when he creates a picture of a landscape like "NATURE'S BEEN DOING THAT FOR YEARS! DO SOMETHING NEW YOU POSER!", and ROADS TO HORIZON deserve all the praise they get.  A solid release that's familiar, catchy, well-written, and sure to grab the band a much larger fan base.