“As you passed in my embrace, I felt a part of me leave with you.”
The melodic hardcore scene is one that is constantly bubbling beneath the surface, with beautifully raw and emotional music waiting for anyone willing to dive in. Seattle’s No Home is one that often flies under the radar, but has still has a sizeable following. With a sound influenced by genre titans such as Counterparts and Being As An Ocean, their take is similarly passionate and heartfelt, a complete package with catchy choruses and cathartic breakdowns. With an two EPs, one a split with Ghost Chant, under their belts, the band are finally at the precipice of their debut album, Hell Is All Around Us.
Album intro “Lesson Learned” hides a callback to one of their most well-known tracks “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, teasing the chorus in a layer of TV static. From here, the album launches into a display of what the band does best. In a heavy scene dominated by production elements, used to varying degrees of success, it’s really damn refreshing to hear real instruments. With only the distortion on the guitars, the band makes use of its organic instruments effectively, riding the lines of hardcore to bring a balance of aggression and emotional impact. Recent single “Empty Veins” brings the signature lead lines of melodic hardcore into the picture, adding to the melancholy. Guitarist Nick Skogmo displays a proficiency with the style, writing riffs and leads that feel satisfying and purposeful. Jordan Doughty takes to the kit well, keeping up the tempo well on the punky beats the genre is known for, while providing adequate space on the breakdowns.
Vocalist Craig Prater breathes life into the No Home sound with his impressive range. His screams carry a poignant energy to them, able to articulate the emotion of the lyrics accurately. Be it despair, anger, or sadness, these all can be heard in his screams. His cleans vocal style is laced in nostalgia, a callback to the post-hardcore of the 2010s, and the band has a clear knack for catchy hooks, with tracks like “Feign” displaying this well.
“I fell apart, and lost the finer parts of me. Before I ever found myself, before I could love someone else.”
A lot of the lyrical content on the album is rather depressive in nature, as one might aspect, and in its wistfulness, the words of each song end up being quite poetic. Reflecting on themes of grief, depression, and many other heavy topics, their self-deprecating nature lends itself to the overall emotional impact without feeling overdone. The words of “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” are particularly heartbreaking: “There is no brighter tomorrow, just a world where I learn to live without you.” It depicts grief in a painfully accurate fashion, and the accompanying instrumental amplifies this, from its cathartic breakdown to the melancholic chorus.
Hell Is All Around Us hits heavier strides both vocally and instrumentally on “God Won’t Forgive You”, the angriest track on the record. At just over a minute long, aggressive chugs and dissonance-laden breakdowns balance out the album’s predominant sadness. On the other end, interlude-like track “Bloom” strip back the intensity of the instruments, beginning with a talk-screamed narration. Building and eventually exploding into a ambient-led climax with gorgeous leads, its inclusion mid-album provides a nice change of pace.
Indeed, the album as a whole feels very well-paced and connected. Seamless transitions between tracks and a cohesive, overarching sound give the record a sense of intentionality. Despite the album’s relatively short runtime at close to twenty-nine minutes, it feels like a complete piece.
The album rounds out with “No Roses”, demonstrating all that No Home is good at. Doughty’s drum skills really shine here, able to deliver rapid blasts and fills on its high tempo verses. The track is very balanced, having its softer moments as well. This all culminates in the filthiest breakdown the band has ever pulled off, unleashing a gradual slowdown which crescendos with an impressive guttural at the end. It’s an apt climax for such an emotionally-charged record.
Truth be told, melodic hardcore isn’t an extremely varied genre. Bands usually take its established hallmarks and execute them to varying degrees of success, and No Home have undoubtedly given their best. With their ability to deliver precision in emotion with their aggressive moments, while still balancing it out with catchy hooks, the band have ensured longevity with their tracks. The band also wear their hearts on their sleeves with their genuine and impressionable lyrics. Hell Is All Around Us explores much of the tragedy and frustration of life, while simultaneously providing solace in these shared experiences.
8/10
Hell Is All Around Us is available now via Blood Blast Distribution and War Against Records, and you can purchase the album here.