Pick of the month:
MIDNIGHT IDOLS - "Nightrulers"
I’m going to spare everyone yet another tirade where I bitch about what I feel is by far the most stale music genre of all time: melodic death metal. I will, however, tell you about the most recent band of this genre that’s reached my doorstep. IF HOPE DIES is yet another band that proudly parades around all of this genres clichés: C tuned guitars, MAIDEN harmonies, more tattoos than anyone that age should be able to afford, hardcore yelling vocals that turn clear come chorus time, and songs that all sound pretty much the same. In other words, there’s really nothing here that sets these guys very far apart from any other band of the genre, and if melodic death isn’t your thing, this CD isn’t going to change your mind.
That being said, it wouldn’t be fair to not mention that at the very least, IF HOPE DIES appeals to the darker, harder core of this genre’s fan base. While not a direct rip off of the most vanilla American melodic death bands (i.e. SHADOWS FALL and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), at least they strive to emulate the originators of the genre, such as IN FLAMES. And though the songs on here do start sounding mighty similar after a while, at least since they’re ripping off the European bands instead of the American ones, they should garner a decent amount of affection from fans of the genre (hell, they really sound no better or worse than the current gen of Euro-melodic death, such as NIGHTRAGE, HATESPHERE, etc.). However, for the more educated metal fan above the age of 17, ripping off is ripping off is ripping off.
In conclusion, I feel the need to ask—nay—beg bands like IF HOPE DIES to pretty please change shit up once in a while! Honestly, do these bands want to make any sort of impression in the history of music that lasts any longer than an album or, if they’re really lucky, maybe two? It all boils down to this: in the long run, music history remembers the innovators and the rebels and scorns the bullshit. Ponder that.
OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/ifhopedies
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