Stick With It
Another Victory signing equals more eyeliner fuelled screamo upstarts producing nothing but catchy melodic hardcore with a singer that cares more about his haircut than his vocal ability. However I am about to contradict all I have just said and say that On The Last Day have some potential to discard this image, if they choose to.
Victory describes On The Last Day as having the darkness of AFI and Aiden, mixed with the post hardcore adrenalin of Rise Against and Thrice.
I agree that they have that same urgency and driving force of a Rise Against song but I do not see the comparison to AFI. This band sound about as dark as their hair colour. That doesn't mean to say that it is not a fully charged album with perhaps the occasional nod toward Boy Sets Fire in their passion and vocal deliverance of the songs. This is a great way to appeal to those who appreciate a slightly more mature edge to their melody and metal guitars.
Of course they make use of the typical 4- part vocal harmonies and endless angsty songs about heartbreak, loss and what ever else may make a teenage adolescent cry.
But the one thing On The Last Day does have to stand them apart is the potential for edginess in their songs. I admit it's not quite there yet but it could be in another album's time if they survive! Maybe if they develop their style, and lose the carbon copy image they could follow the mature melodic hardcore route and win some staying power, because we all know that teenagers can be fickle.
I do find it difficult to see a stand out track on the album because unfortunately (as with many of these bands) every song has a similar style structure to the point that it is actually the same song over and over. (I don't think there is one song on the album that makes use of a different tempo.) Alright it's catchy and you can tell they can write a decent enough song but it would be great to hear what they could do without the constraints of the 'How to write a screamo song set of rules' behind them.
On the whole there is definitely an element of surprise in this record, I don't think it's something I would go out of my way to listen to but it definitely beats a lot of other bands in its field. If they stick with the up tempo adrenalin fuelled songs they will not make a huge impact but if they ditch the fashion and add a bit of edge then I will probably start paying attention.