Shores - Beginning/End

Shores - Beginning/End

 

The so called 'Hardcore' genre has been so over saturated over the years with so many bands simply trying to make the hardest breakdown, or the lowest growls. There's so many bands at this point that they generally all meld into one, even on an individual bands own album many songs sound exactly the same. You come to expect the same screaming, the same clean vocals, the same chugga-chugga riffs, the same song structure. The whole genre has generally become boring and stale. Shores is a different breed. A fresh young band out of Okinawa Japan they're here to show what the genre can be. While they do fall victim to some of the stale staples of the genre, overall they offer a fresher approach to the hardcore music scene.

The first song you hear is Of Alaska. Right away you'll know what to expect. This is going to be heavy and loud. The opening guitar riff is more reminiscent of Underoath or Norma Jean than what you would expect in this genre, say something like Memphis May Fire. It then breaks down into the clean vocals, yet the guitarist refuses at this point to become boring. The song does go to the boring chugga-chugga riff towards the end, but at this point the song is stuck in your head.

The Last Sound shows off the layering of the clean vocals and the screaming. It highlights the differences between the two, and you'll realize they have pretty unique voices for the crowded genre. Also just try and get certain parts of this song out of your head, I dare you.

Westward March is one of the singles off the album and while it does showcase a lot of what the band has to offer, I kind of wish they had gone with another song, it's a great song and catchy as hell but I feel like it plays it too safe genre wise. Although I suppose that will be good to get the hardcore kids listening to it. Basically it's a traditional hardcore song you know what to expect, but it's well done.

Their next single off this album fares a bit better. Beacons is more something you'd expect out of a more progressive hardcore band like Underoath. It's a great showcase of the clean vocalists range. It's also a good single, it's decently catchy, and still plays it safe enough.

If I had to pick a favorite song off of this it would have to be The Great Neck. Probably because it's the most progressive song on the album. It's the best way to show off the combined skills of the band, the guitar, the bass, the drumming, and the vocals. The stand outs on this song in particular are the guitarist with the more mellow side of things transitioning into an awesome metal riff, and the two vocalists. The layering again on this song is just amazing. Also The Great Neck strays from the path with the song structure. It's very anti-traditional and it makes it just that much better.

The album is filled out with 3 other songs, Ashes and Embers, Polaris, and Beginning End. Of the 3 the closing song, Beginning End, is the stand out. It's a good way to close and will leave you wanting to hear more. In total the album contains 8 songs, it's a bit short but it's packed with talent.

Shores hasn't really made a big name yet in the US. Hopefully that will change soon, because these guys deserve it. They possess an amazing amount of talent, and bring a fresh taste to a stale genre. This is hopefully just the beginning for them and not the end (See what I did there?), though I would like them to use a more progressive song structure and try to steer away from the over played parts of the genre. Overall this is a great hardcore album and I hope to hear more from Shores.

Pick up the album today