More Than A Mere Label
Metalcore can be a funny old genre. For the devote metal fan who permanently kneels at the alter of untainted metal in its purest form, devil horns continually thrust for all to see, it can be seen almost as the tainted offspring that no one wants to claim let alone give time to; for the music fan that doesn’t not have an ounce of metal flowing through their musical coil, its merely dismissed as a mass of gruff growls blended over a mesh mash of riffs - in short, simply ‘noise’. But to overlook metalcore is to do the genre a disservice and in doing so to also dismiss one of Britain’s most promising young band’s, Carcer City, a band that demands your attention whatever your music preference and one that certainly shouldn’t be written off as ‘just another metalcore band’. Loud they may be but just noise they most definitely are not.
With perhaps one of the most alluring, gripping and exciting beginnings, ‘The Life We Have Chosen’ is an album that wastes no time grabbing the listener and dragging them into the Liverpuddlian band’s world. With a slight nod to Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’, album opener ‘The Escapist’ teases with an electrifying dance filled ripple of riffs that will not fail to ensnare all before Carcer City literally explode, crashing and raging with an eruption of pummelling double pedal drums colliding with brutal base lines, brash riffs and body crunching growls. Brilliantly unpredictable and engagingly aggressive, ‘The Escapist’ throws punch after punch as it bulldozes its way out of the speakers drenched in anger fed adrenaline.
As the primitive growls and fast paced riffs unfold amongst the bold bass lines of ‘Staring Into The Sun’ its becomes clear that Carcer City have more to offer than run of the mill metalcore, a fact reinforced by title track, ‘The Life We Have Chosen (Part I and II)’. Whilst the brutal beauty of ‘The Life We Have Chosen (Part I)’ may be in keeping with the rest of the album, it is the stark contrast of ‘Part II’ that raises the bar for Carcer City. Sublimely sedate and somewhat tranquil, ‘The Life We Have Chosen (Part II)’ offers the simplicity of spoken word mingled amidst complex riffs that eventually ushers in the powerful punch of the band once more, accumulating into an almost anthemic call to do what you truly want with you life; fearsomely uplifting.
To dismiss Carcer City as another bunch of metalcore kids would be doing the quintet a major disservice. True, the unpredictability of their music, the aggressive edge that threatens to attack at any given moment may not make for an accessible listen but what it does instead is make for an exciting, exhilarating rush of fresh new talent that should not be over looked. Wearing their grass roots badge of British metal with honour and pride, nestled nicely amongst their stampeding sound of ferocious roars and wild riffs, Carcer City are a band to get excited about, one that reaffirms the notion that British metal is alive and kicking and one that proves beyond any doubt that genres are nothing more than a mere label.