Road To Horizon, a post-hardcore band out of Leeds with a string of tours under their belt, brings us ‘Chapters,’ a five-track EP with intricate instrumentals and a mix of softness and intensity on the vocals.
Starting the EP off is ‘Through The Ashes’. This track begins with some dramatic piano and synth before breaking into heavy drums and a huge sense of excitement and anticipation with high-energy guitar. The vocals kick in with a nice, almost soft melodic quality before being shattered by expert screams that keep the whole song moving. The chorus, which is supposed to be the height of the song, seems to fall flat, and it took me an entire listen-through to discover why this is.
‘Through The Ashes’ can essentially sum up the entire EP. The songs begin slowly before bursting into life with well-played, metal-tinged instruments, just as ‘Caught Red Handed’ displays expertly. The guitars are lightning fast and intricate, and ‘Open Your Eyes’ features the best example of that talent. ‘In Your Bed’ gives you a heavy dose of metal that is gritty and wonderful.
And while each song shares all of these elements, the one that stands out the most is the absolutely boring melodies that completely kill any weight the song may have carried. The vocals aren’t bad. They’re clean and simple and easy to listen to. However, the melodies don’t stray beyond a handful of notes. They’re too slow in contrast with the high-energy screaming and end up stopping the song in its tracks. Contrast is usually the high point in an album, but for whatever reason, this contrast doesn’t work.
The worst offender in this whole bunch is actually in the bonus track, a cover or Rita Ora’s ‘RIP’. They take this poppy track and somehow make Rita’s parts even slower. It becomes the most excruciating experience to listen to the already medium-paced parts of the song become dragged out. Which doesn’t make sense for a post-hardcore band. Why not make it over-the-top intense and fast instead of basically the same with some hardcore instruments and screaming instead of electronic beats and rapping?
Road To Horizon definitely has something going with ‘Chapters.’ They are able to write great instrumental parts and the screaming is really excellent, and the whole EP could have done with more; it just falls short of being a solid album. The melodies bring down the entire EP and it ends up being slow and uninteresting: a big disappointment from a talented group of musicians.
2.5/5
‘Chapters’ by Road To Horizon is out on the 8th April.
Road To Horizon links: Facebook|Twitter
Words by Jenny Gagas (@Jenny_herself)
