Spiritfall have quickly become highly respected in a short time thanks to their friendly yet emotionally drenched blend of emocore and new metal. Their sound is comparable to acts such as Simon Says with a touch of Far, but overall the material contains a bit more bite and edge than the previous acts, although they do share the same talent for writing epic songs, which in turn take the listener on a veritable auditory safari.
As far as vocals go, the release is quite alluring with soft spoken words that contain subtle hints of anger smoothly coating the aggressive guitar work, bridging into serene overblown choruses that flawlessly hold notes and convey an abundance of pure uncut emotion. Almost angelic in nature, there's little to no screaming here and yet there doesn't need to be as band frontman Anthony's all encompassing vocal range touches upon an aural rainbow of intensity. Guitar wise the release is filled with thick chunky tones more attuned to the modern new metal band, rather than the light hearted nature of most emo styled groups six stringed arrangements. This comes coupled with a generous, yet intelligent helping of crunchy distortion and long winding riffs that have an uncanny ability to suck the listener in without having to rely on a bevy of effects or studio wizardry. This along with many other factors make for a satisfyingly assertive display of guitar prowess and power. The bass performance captured on the album is more along the lines of a supporting role and comes complete with a lower, yet still conservative tuning that accentuates the guitar's sharps note with extra punch. While drums are tightly knit and muffled with a dull sound, giving them a generous helping of kick as they perforate the songs with crisp highhat work and off time snare hits.
Through and through the groups music possesses immense depth and captivates listeners with its intricate yet digestible song structures. Intoxicatingly beautiful and yet completely intense, they manage to almost cultivate the material right before the listeners ears, utilizing evolving song structures and a confident musical prowess to harvest a colorful crop of sonic ideas mixed with everyday aggression. Perhaps though this can also work against them, as they tend to stick too much to familiar territory and although there is nothing wrong with being comfortable, you can only sit in one spot so long before the urge comes to adjust your position. With a bit of a push into different directions and some new ideas tested, the band could easily become one of the most respected acts in the underground scene. But for now, they remain as a red hot up and comer that will no doubt move on to the big leagues in a short period of time, and after listening to this EP a couple times, it's not hard to see why. Spiritfall have huge heart as they churn out their lovingly crafted blend of new metal meets emocore, but it seems they may have picked the wrong name, as the music they create will no doubt make many spirits rise with enjoyment worldwide.
(4.5 / 5)
