STICK TO YOUR GUNS

Here's a shocker: STICK TO YOUR GUNS hail from Orange County, CA, a veritable breeding ground of new school hardcore and metalcore. Another Century Media stab at finding the next great metalcore kings, "Comes from the Heart" is better than I expected, but doesn't do a whole lot to breathe new life into a genre that has been rather tepid as of late.

Examining the heavy side of the album (and most of it is heavy),the band is adept at producing tough hardcore tunes. In a quest to play "true" hardcore, far too many acts end up sounding (and looking, which seems to be just as important as the music for many of the kiddies) like whiny suburban white kids of privilege wearing crooked-bill ball caps, girly pants, and MADBALL tee-shirts. However, STICK TO YOUR GUNS do a commendable job of assembling more than a few rock-hard 'core tunes and in a few cases have hit the compositional bull's eyes in that one can hear smart changeups and breakdowns that don't make one go, "Oh god, not again." For example, the two-minute "We Must Look Like Ants from Up There" is an effective up-tempo hardcore slam with gang shouts that work, a killer breakdown, and some standout bass work. Tunes like "Impact" and "Enough is Enough" are sharply written as well, both offering the album's other 'core cliché: clean vocal melodies.

Those melodies are the part that surprised me a little. I've heard so many instances of vomit-inducing 'core crooning that I was dreading spinning the disc. At least in a couple of cases though, the approach taken is not too shabby. Vocalist Jesse Barnett sports a little Howard Jones in his cleans and the patterns do in fact recall KILLSWITCH ENGAGE to some degree. That said, the aroma of vanilla does invade the nostrils before long, even if the depths of outright suckitude aren't reached. In the end, "Comes from the Heart" has some appeal and might even get higher marks from critics that haven't yet been inundated with the style. Just don't expect a stunning accomplishment.