Netherland based Melodic Metalcore band Undawn last year on 16th of November pelted out a jaw dropping EP, “Solidarity”. The band which is based out of Dedemsvaart, Overijssel, Netherlands, had the chance to open up for major bands like Soulfly and Textures, in the past. The band describes the EP as “SOLIDARITY breaks through your negative patterns. In an era in which our ego and individualism prevail, we demand the maximum from ourselves. Solidarity is about, burden that you can experience with eternal doubts about decisions, living in your comfort zone and being stuck in the past. Sometimes you don’t even realize it, but it hinders your further development.”
The EP contains 5 tracks all under 5 minute. Melodic Metalcore as a genre much identifiable with its knee jerk hooks, off time signatures and a plethora of polymorphic rhythms, has always had a defined pattern. What becomes important here is to stay in the genre, yet have enough experimental appetite during the songwriting process to make it stand out. So without further ado let’s jump to it.
The EP opens up with “Head of Doubt” which paints a vivid soundscape, as it starts off with what appears as the chorus, but then delves right into melodic vocals transposed on a heavier guitar chugs. The song alternates between clean and screeching vocals and finds the right place to plug in a guitar solo. The softer interlude that follows captivates you with a strong bassline paired with clean guitars, giving the song a really good feel to it. Both Michiel and Leon are crafty with their song-writing.
Next up, “Implode” catches your attention with a very different intro to any song that I’ve heard so far (reminded me bit of Limp Bizkit), but takes no time to gather up all energy to give a power packed performance. I just love the vocal melody on this song, and what amazed me was the technical prowess on the guitars when it pelts out face melting guitar solo. The drums pound hard on “Comfort Zone” as a hypnotic guitar riff sets as its backdrop, with plenty of melodic clean vocals that add so much texture to the song. But be prepared for the guttural growls that are carefully placed to pull you off of your comfort zone. No Pun Intended!
“Learn the Hard way” gets you rock and rolling, and grooving to its upbeat rhythm. For once I thought are there any blast beats on this record? But they have been morphed and are scattered throughout the song, but are never evident. I have to give full points to Tom for keeping the beat fresh and innovative. The EP ends with “Nostalgia” as it pulls out heavy riffage right at the outset, and takes on interesting shredding as we progress giving a lot of character to the song. The drums go ballistic and a small bit where they march just gets me hooked on to this song. The melodic and staccato guitar solo which progresses to a clean rhythm ends this EP is style.
Production – The album has great production quality. All the instruments get a fair share of playtime.
Conclusion – At no point does any song miss out on melody, be it for the guitars that were ambient and crunchy, the bass that was thumping, and the drums that were played to the dot. This album definitely deserves multiple repeats and I recommend you, Hit Play!
Rating: 8.5/10
Written by: Ankit Sood
Tracklist:
1. Head of Doubt
2. Implode
3. Comfort Zone
4. Learn The Hard Way
5. Nostalgia
Band Members:
Michiel Brinkhuis – Guitar, Lead Vocal
Leon Kloosterman – Guitar, Vocals
Thijs Brinkhuis – Bass, Vocals
Tom Brinkhuis – Drums
Albums:
“Justice is …” (2015) [review]
“Solidarity” (2019)
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Spotify
Video for ‘Implode’
