Blimey. Life’s a real bitch. Your band is just starting to take off, you have a tour scheduled for next week and then your guitarist goes and dies on you in his sleep. Aged 18. Far too young. Have to give these Reading boys their props for keeping going after such a major blow, though that said don’t expect a sugar-coated, foaming at the mouth review from me borne out of pity.
As far as metalcore goes, I probably find it easier to pick out a really bad album than to notice if an album is especially good. I have grown fairly tolerant to the style in recent years, but still wouldn’t consider myself a fan of the stuff. The good news is that this isn’t bad at all – these are five solid tunes that display tight musicianship and as is often the case with college-age bands, a kind of fresh-faced energy. That said, it’s what I’d call textbook stuff, adhering very much to the tried and tested formula where all the Calibans and Chimairas have previously trodden.
There are some great heavy riffs to be found here, such as on ‘Divinity Restored’ and as expected the verses typically pound away and then subside to make way for a melodic chorus. The clean vocals are a bit on the whiny side for my liking – some manage to pull it off if the vocalist has a particularly good singing voice (Howard Jones springs to mind) although there is definitely room for improvement here. The screaming vocals are competent enough though, especially on the thrashy ‘Reflections Of The Past,’ which has a cool riff to it. ‘What Once Was Light’ begins with some slidy, semi-technical guitar work that is particularly sharp, though this does have a particularly enjoyable melody.
Terakai aren’t reinventing the wheel and are highly unlikely to convert any new fans to the genre, but they are competent at what they do and I get the impression they are having fun playing it.
http://www.myspace.com/terakai
