Prior to receiving this EP for review, I listened to extracts on Heights’s web site and wanted to hear more. Having heard “The Land, The Ocean, The Distance”, I am totally impressed with its maturity. This is all the more remarkable for the fact that this band from Welwyn Garden City only formed this year, and looking at their photograph, they all look about 15. What is not in doubt is the band’s musicianship or creativity.

This 16 minute, 3 track work jumps straight out of the blocks with the epic “Empires”. As a point of reference, if you wanted to know what Cult of Luna would sound like playing in a Hardcore style, this would be it. Heights turn any rule book on its head by launching from the outset into an enormous atmospheric post-hardcore section, which is the backbone of this track. The dark undercurrent is eloquently mixed with harshness and emotion. Careful thought has clearly gone into combining the constituent parts and creating a fluid and utterly gripping track. The Hardcore style is more prominent on “Paint the Sky” and “Worlds Apart”. This is no pale imitation of Killswitch Engage, nor is it derivative of the New York Hardcore brigade, although I could detect elements of both in there. Both tracks are hard-edged, but remain fluid and controlled. The build-up is slow. The lack of frenzy heightens the atmosphere. On “Paint the Sky”, the gang chorus, which in a normal Hardcore setting which would be used to express violence, follows an impressive section of reflective melancholy and succeeds in maintaining the mood. There’s superb unity between the instrumental output and the vocals. The band use harmonies and bring each of these tracks to a climax with anthemic choruses. “This is what you wanted, now we’re worlds apart” runs the line, developing from the chorus to the chant of the final track. With powerful musical accompaniment, the impact is massive.

On their site, the band refers to “epic progressions” on this ambitious record. They’re right. Heights quite rightly recognise their uniqueness within their chosen musical framework and introduce us, with tongue firmly in cheek, to “Hertfordshire Hardcore”. Well I’m up for that. “The Land, The Ocean, The Distance” is a highly intelligent debut work, which deserves congratulations and recognition within the world of Metal.

http://www.myspace.com/weareheights

Andrew Doherty

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