Mediocre Metalcore

No, this isn’t the famous war story of the same name, but a metalcore band from Long Island, New York. Despite the same names, don’t expect to hear songs that sing of war and battles, but of more intimate issues about life and opening up, rather than keeping your feelings inside and not talking about it. There is plenty of examples of these lyrical themes to be found on The Things They Carried’s debut album, “There’s Something I Can’t Tell Anyone.”

In spite of this, there is a lot of repetition. Plenty of breakdowns and Cookie Monster vocals to be found here.

Now this album may be their take on the the genre, but it’s nothing unique or revolutionary. This album has all of the characteristics of other metalcore releases: breakdowns, screaming vocals that switch off with clean vocals and a lot of melodic guitar work. Almost all of the songs seem to follow the same formula and contain similar structuring (melodic passages, breakdowns and a lot of screaming) but some of the songs manage to stand out on their own. Songs like “364 Day Anniversary” and “The Rationality of Failure” are definitely more on the heavy side of the spectrum, while songs like “Memoriam” and “An Ode to Rachel Winters” wander down the opposite path, appearing to be more radio-friendly.

The biggest appeal of this album would have to be the “eerie” atmosphere that is created throughout. This is done mainly through the melodic sections and the way that they are mixed with the clean vocals. It’s a little ironic that the “eerie-ness” comes from the actual singing and not the cookie monster-like growls, but this is because the tone of the voice is almost agonizing at times and when mixed with the melodies, the atmosphere is created. The atmosphere is further amplified when mixed with the lyrical content about inner struggles.

The only real criticism of this album, is that most of the songs were too similar in structure. The same formula of meshing together screams and singing and repetitive breakdowns gets old after a while, and may give the listener some incentive for turning the album off.

There isn’t much appeal to this album that warrants another listen, as there are plenty of bands out there that already established who play a similar style. The only real difference between The Things They Carried and other metalcore bands is the lyrical content, but that doesn’t change the music itself, which is just dry and repetitive.

Photo by Doug Weber