As hardcore and hard rock gradually become more comfortably intertwined post-Beartooth, a new wave of bands has gradually emerged who can pair catchiness and chaos into a compact packages. London’s High Rise fit nicely into this scene, but display a greater ambition on ‘Left It For Everything (L.I.F.E.)’.
The aim of ’L.I.F.E.’ seems to be to built upon the ideas of hardcore and with a more grandiose production, create a richer and cleaner sound where no sound goes unheard, every intricate drum triplet can be heard. The result is a thicker sounding crunch to each guitar riff and more solid melodies during choruses. And choruses like the title track and ‘Vultures’ are intended to be sung out loud in clubs, festival stages and possibly greater.
This extra catchiness gives the EP the aura of a more palatable Comeback Kid, but it also makes the EP feel fun to listen to. While many hardcore aficionados might feel more reward in understanding a more obtuse record, it takes a hardened cynic to not start jumping to the In Flames-esque Gothenburg groove of ‘Reborn’s intro, or want to sing to the chorus of ‘Piece by Piece’, which recalls both Rise Against and the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtrack.
While ‘Left It For Everything (L.I.F.E)’ might not be the most innovative EP right now, it serves as a huge statement of intent from High Rise. The flirtation of hardcore with stadium rock songwriting is nailed to a high standard on this EP, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep the momentum up when a full album comes around. Until then, bounce to this EP. It’s suited for just that.
3.5/5
‘Left It For Everything (L.I.F.E)’ by High Rise is released on September 16th.
High Rise links: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Andrew Davidson (@AndyrfDavidson)
