Budapest, Hungary, that is where post-hardcore band Shell Beach comes from. Shell Beach was founded in 2006 by long-time friends. The band name was inspired by the unreachable paradise destination from the movie “Dark City”.
They have released two full-length albums. The debut “Acronycal” which was already released in 2007 on Edge Records. The second album “This Is Desolation” in 2013 and this brand new EP “Changes x Restless x Faithless” are released on Redfield Digital. The first music video from the band for the song “Are We OK?” debuted on MTV in 2008.
Shell Beach did a European tour with The Southern Oracle and also played at the Belgian Groezrock festival. In 2014 they did a tour with Enter Shikari and then they got back to their rehearsalspace to work on new songs resulting in a new five-track EP “Changes x Restless x Faithless”.
First song ‘The Eclipse’ begins with a drum fill, this song contains the classic ‘core’ elements but has also some interresting riffs. They tend to lean a bit toward classic rock. The chorus has a catchy melody, screams are interspersed with beautiful clean vocals.
Second song ‘Comet’ includes some Indie-rock and pop/punk influences. This song has a nice vibe to it, uptempo but I also hear some mathcore. Powerful drumwork but the song also has it’s calm moments.
Next song ‘Run Out The Sun’ also begins with drums, and nice tranquil guitarplaying and clean singing. This doesn’t take long though, when the screaming kicks in we are treated to beautiful guitarsolo’s and bombastic riffs. Then the song goes back to it’s former calm state, only to build up again. This song is musically, again, more a rocksong than a hardcore song. Not that I mind though, it is a good song, so who cares?
The fourth track ‘Lotus Cove’ is more an instrumental/electronical interlude. What to say about it? I don’t know, I like these calm moments on a record. But I also know enough people who don’t like it. If you don’t like it than just skip it to the next, and last, song ‘The Treason’. Which has all the aforementioned elements. A high tempo classic post-hardcore song with an intense rythm that get’s you moving. And again with calm moments just to build up to a climax.
What to say more about this EP? You know, sometimes it is hard to find the right words to describe an album. If you like post-hardcore, than this album is most likely to your liking. (How many ‘likes’can I get for that last sentence?)
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by: René Woning
Tracklist:
1. The Eclipse
2. Comet
3. Run Out The Sun
4. Lotus Cove
5. The Treason
Band members:
Zoltán Totik – vocals
Pál Somló – guitars, background-vocals
Mátyás Mohácsi – bass
Dániel Ivánfi – drums
Bálint Szollár – guitars
Discography:
“Acronycal” (2007)
“This Is Desolation” (2013)
“Changes x Restless x Faithless (EP)” (2016)
Record label: Redfield Digital, January 2016
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Website
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘The Eclipse’