Those feeling depressed from the two long years it has been since Envy‘s brilliant last album, wash those tears away, because there’s a new hardcore band on the block, and one well worth checking out.
Formed in 2010, Echoes are a post-metal band from Winchester, UK, playing a diverse blend of ambient hardcore and metal and drawing influences from artists such as This Will Destroy You, Rinoa, Devil Sold His Soul and Hans Zimmer (you can check out the band’s awesome cover of ‘Time’ here by the way).
A couple of weeks ago Echoes released their debut EP With an Eye on the Shoreline & a Hand to the Sea (thanks for making me spend 3 weeks typing your EP title guys!) and I can’t resist giving it a Dose of Metal review.
Echoes – With an Eye on the Shoreline & a Hand to the Sea
1. ‘Leaving None Behind’ – 5:25
2. ‘Rivers’ – 5:10
3. ‘Safe it Seems’ – 5:06
With an Eye… opens with the epic and ambitious ‘Leaving None Behind’. Desperate screams from vocalist Joshua resonate over ambient melodies and explosive harmonies, succeeding in coercing emotion to the listener without reducing the music to generic Clichés and cheesy lyrics. The murky bass moves the verses forward and helps the melody flow whilst atmospheric clean guitar lines glisten upon the surface.
Next track ‘Rivers’ demonstrates Echoes’ desire to not repeat themselves. The song is a lot gloomier in its approach, with an initial grunge sound in the verses. The bridge and chorus are more upbeat however, once again being driven by the powerful, emotional vocals and instrumentation.
The EP’s closing track ‘Safe it Seems’ is a climatic and fitting conclusion to the demo. Providing a mix of high uplifting shrieks of guitars with pummeling drums. When the track break downs into a beautiful interlude, the final crescendo is used to create maximum impact, providing a haunting finale to what has been a fantastic start from this young band.
Overall, Echoes have made a impressive start to their career with this EP/sampler, and with it being offered as a free download via their website, there really isn’t any excuse to pass up on this excellent release. Now all I can say is, bring on the full album!
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