Yet another metal-core band to add to the collection...
Hailing from the black heart of the South East of England, Love That Kills are an aggressive new hardcore band intent on following the same vein of sound from such acts as It Dies Today and Poison The Well to name a few. Love That Kills produce sharp and aggressive angst driven metal-core with just the tiniest injection of melodic playing just to lighten up the sound a little. Add searing vocals to the sound of screaming, chaotic guitars and you have the perfect recipe for the music that Love That Kills create. The question is, is it really anything that "new" at all?
From the sound of their music, Love That Kills achieve what they set out to do musically and they do it well but perhaps a little too well. In my personal opinion, Love That Kills are churning out the same screaming, anger driven progressions that so many other hardcore bands are doing at the moment and there's really nothing much that stands out to make their music anything special or different compared to the music other bands are making at all. They have their good points such as strong structure rhythmically and intense guitaring skills, but it just feels like there is just no life whatsoever to what they are trying to create. The vocals constantly scream on a monotone value with little to no change to intonation or vocal quality thusly making the music seem listless and without emotion. Still, as far as the vein of hardcore music is concerned the music works really well with searing riffs of cutting edge esteem and vocals that rise above the music and rip brutally through the assault of guitars and drums in the background creating a sound of real energy and force.
'Bloodless' kicks off on a vicious of screaming and violent riffs providing the backbone for the harmonising guitar solos that hover overhead the sonic wall of noise resonating below. The music has a sharpened and bitter edge to it, the sound pushing on with an unchallenged force that constantly pushes forward with alternating rhythms and shifting tempo throughout as the riff structures metamorphisise more times then a snake sheds its skin. Always changing and shifting direction, 'Bloodless' makes an energising and roaring opening to the album, however there is little change throughout as the following tracks continue on the same vein and after a while it does become difficult to tell one track from the rest with all tracks featuring the same ripping introductions, hoarse vocals and soaring, slightly slower choruses that resonate a slightly desperate air to their sound. The material differs very little and the album in itself is a good example of how over use of screaming as opposed to melodic vocals can actually bring down the quality of the music produced by the rest of the band. Only on two occasions in the album does the vocalist turn down his vocal assault into a calmer tone, quietly speaking a few lines before launching straight back into full on screaming and though effective for the type of music being produced, it just becomes incredibly tiring to listen to after a while, if only for the lack of melodic change and the overall monotone sound of it all.
As hardcore goes, Love That Kills do have some aspects to their music that will ensure that they do acquire some success on the scene and they do have a brilliant grasp of time and key signature changes teamed with some amazing skill on the guitar which will make them popular among hardcore fans, especially those who are also fans of It Dies Today, Remembering Never and Poison The Well. But, in my opinion, the music they produce rarely deviates from its 'safe' stereotypical hardcore style and there's very little about them that makes them particularly stand out amongst other bands of a similar vein.