“Time slips away, nothing changes.“
As a genre, metalcore has never been short of bands looking to recreate the past. In an era of throwback angel statue metalcore dominating scenes across the world, it’s beginning to become quite difficult to sift through a lot of the grit and emotion that made the genre so compelling in the early 2000s. A lot of bands in the genre currently end up sounding similar to the last and lean a little too heavily on nostalgia.
Welcome – Instrument Of God, a six-piece metalcore outfit from Southampton, UK, who are aiming to switch up the pace, welcoming that nostalgia while drawing from a magnitude of other styles from that era that aren’t as common in today’s sound. Featuring a dedicated dual-vocalist approach, their debut EP, The Sun Reflects The Colour Of Your Eyes, comes in at just under 10 minutes and four tracks, filled with strikingly melodic hooks and riffs that are just as tight and sharp.
One of the first hooks of Instrument of God is their understanding of balance. At their core, these songs are built with memorable songwriting and structures that help craft a real sense of urgency with their introduction to the UK DIY scene. These songs are handcrafted to make you want to dance, chock-a-block full of two-step rhythms and punishingly brutal mosh parts. The influence of early Bullet For My Valentine is impossible to ignore, particularly in the way the guitars and dual vocals weave through memorable, heartfelt “hand in the air” sections. These parts are disrupted by angular riffing, dissonant chords, and chaotic bursts of drums that echo some of the intensity of more recent bands like Vein.fm.
As soon as you put on the first intro track, the band sets a tone that carries through the main themes of the project. Distant, tortured screams rupture through stripped-back, whining guitars that slowly intensify to create an unsettling atmosphere of tension that is impossible to shake off or ignore.
This haunting atmosphere built by the introduction is immediately shattered as the EP launches into its first full track, “Return.” Bright guitar leads cut through the chaos before giving way to infectious two-step sections, which slow down into heavier mosh parts that are impossible not to move to. Both vocalists immediately come into their own. Trading lines and harmonising in equal measure, creating a constant push and pull between melody and aggression.
The beautifully sung clean chorus evokes a sense of melancholy that ties into the lyrical themes of desperation to escape the cycle of depression and anguish that we get caught in as humans throughout life. Whether that comes through the trials of making ends meet or struggling with personal relationships, the themes feel deeply relatable. Lyrics such as “days blur to one” and “fall into nothing” really emphasise that feeling of being trapped in situations that are out of your control, whether that be the constant cycle of life or situations you know are wrong to be in. No matter how bad something becomes, you can find yourself stuck due to compulsion, loyalty, or attachment to someone who is not positive in your life.
The second track, “Heaven’s Gate” opens with a catchy rhythm and an instantly recognisable groove, led by calculated drumming, kicking into motion with a guttural vocal delivery reminiscent of Enter Shikari’s “Sorry, You’re Not a Winner.” From the opening moments, the track establishes a relentless pace, with both vocalists taking their turns at the forefront as they trade aggression throughout the song.
It naturally shifts into a more intense melodic territory without ever losing its intensity, creating a constant sense of movement that keeps your feet tapping and head nodding from start to finish. It’s this sense of movement that really brings this whole project together. Each moment is held together by effortless drumming, which acts as the driving force behind every transition and change in direction. The ability to move between frantic bursts of energy, groove-heavy sections, and more melodic passages gives each song a natural flow.
Lyrically, “Heaven’s Gate” continues the band’s exploration of mortality, time, and self-reflection. The song captures the feeling of watching life move forward while struggling with the distance between who you are and who you hoped to become. The harsh vocal fry carries a raw desperation that perfectly matches the aggression of the instrumentals, sounding precise while not being overly processed or clinical. The clean vocals are again perfectly placed right in the middle of the track, giving a break from the noise before plunging your nervous system right back into a pool of harsh uproar and panic chords.
The final track, “Empty Words,” immediately sets a darker tone with its opening sample taken from the movie Machete (2010): “God has mercy, I don’t.” The quote perfectly ties into the EP’s recurring themes of mortality, setting the stage for what becomes the record’s most intense song yet. The track is the EP’s most confrontational moment too, exploring new themes of betrayal, and the pain of being abandoned by those who you thought were your closest allies.
This track showcases some of Instrument of God‘s most interesting guitar work so far. Rather than relying purely on speed and aggression, the band creates impact through weight, constantly shifting from the natural grooves they have established throughout the EP into crushing, slower and heavier notes, with sudden tempo changes that contribute to the unsettling atmosphere crafted so far. The influence of bands like Trivium can be heard through the technical precision and dramatic guitar and drum work, while the crushing rhythmic approach and emphasis on groove carry subtle hints of Gojira. This results in the heaviest track on the EP, with some of the most intense mosh parts the band has to offer so far, full to the brim with energy that makes you want to fling your arms and legs around in typical hardcore fashion.
In a scene where nostalgia can often overshadow originality, Instrument of God have managed to capture the spirit of classic metalcore while pushing it forward with their own identity. “The Sun Reflects The Colour Of Your Eyes” blends the melodic songwriting that defined earlier metalcore with the chaos and intensity that modern heavy scenes continue to embrace, creating a sound that feels familiar without becoming a simple throwback.
With their dual-vocal approach, relentless drumming, and ability to balance melody with brutality, Instrument of God have crafted a debut EP that feels built for both personal reflection and the intensity of a live show. The contrast between the brightness of the instrumentation and the desperation found within the lyrical themes creates one of the release’s most compelling qualities.
At just an intro and three tracks, “The Sun Reflects The Colour Of Your Eyes” leaves you wanting more. A promising introduction from a band that clearly understands what made this genre special, while offering their own vision of where the genre can go next.
