“When all is said and done, gief is the price we pay for love.”
The genre of melodic hardcore arguably holds one of the strongest lenses when it comes to nostalgia, the presence of bands such as Worthwhile, More Than Life and Defeater in the early 10s holds a certain esteem that very few do from that period of time. Others have looked to put a more modern take on the genre, yet HEAVYHEX aim to channel the rawness of emotion those bands presented with their debut record True To You.
There is no quiet and lamenting intro to what HEAVYHEX have to present on True To You, as from the outset on “Asymmetry” the emotiveness sits at the forefront. While here it touches on societal issues, with later tracks “Falling” touching on introspective thoughts and closer “Every Thought Of You” telling the story of heartbreak. What persists across True To You is unwavering force of emotion, which gives the record a certain authenticity.
There is tight and fitting production here, done by Jay Mass of the aforementioned Defeater. While not matching the murky days of the likes of Travels and Love Let Me Go, it matches the stylings of that as on later records Letters Home, giving it a clarity yet coarse sound. Lukach‘s vocals succinctly fit this too, while not overtly raspy, having a roughness to them that matches the manner of the record.
During the later moments of the record, there is a slight desire for a further variety in the songwriting and sound. It’s not a wanting for an acoustic guitar to be revealed and a ballad-esque track to be sang but there is a sense that HEAVYHEX find their structure early on and don’t massively deviate from it. While this isn’t to fault any particular track, something leaning further into hooks or a notable change of pace would have been welcome.
The nostalgia that the bands mentioned earlier is akin to watching old sporting highlights, it’s a moment that can never been returned to, that doesn’t mean anything new that comes forward should be discounted. What HEAVYHEX has done here is commendable and the best effort at the old school melodic hardcore than that I can remember in recent memory, True To You is a solid foundation for HEAVYHEX build on and should see many find heart in their effort here.
7.5/10
True To You is out May 3rd via Bridge Nine, and can be pre-ordered here.