All of a sudden I have so many different things to post on here and I found myself not knowing where to turn first. After this review I will be publishing some updates which will happen on the blog, as well as some other ideas I have at the moment. Until then, hope you enjoy the read bellow.
Today we have "Expectations" under the spotlight, a five-piece hardcore outfit hailing from Sofia, Bulgaria, going strong since 2009. Previously, this band has already been mentioned on the blog when I did a tour diary concerning my time spent on the road with "Downfall of Gaia" last year. I saw them live in Sofia, a write-up which you can check out here, and I have to say that I went home fairly impressed. Even if you managed to skip that concert review, the band was on the road through Europe this September, so some of my readers maybe even grasped the privilege to see them live.
So in case you skipped my concert review, what's the deal with "Expectations"? They throw at us some truly emotionally charged modern hardcore, where you can hear a lot of possible influences, ranging from "More Than Life", "Carpathian", "Ruiner" and even some "Funeral For A Friend" moments, all the while being twisted with a touch of their own style. Pretty much everything I liked about them live has been transferred onto the recordings. Usually I end up liking these types of bands more during gigs than on recordings, but here it ended up being equally enjoyable. I ended up rewinding the seven songs present on this release numerous times and each time they just keep growing on you.
Their songs are very dynamic and energetic, consisting of an equal dose of rushing, chest pounding tunes and slower, more dragging sections. The faster melodies can truly throw a punch at your ears, something that I remember surprising me quite a lot last year. There's a fine number of atmospheric sections floating on this release and they manage to slightly push this band away from those more generic and common hardcore acts. At moments, their tunes come close to sounding like a fairly heavy post rockish incarnation and an accent is put on the overall ambient. Faster song sections are pretty straightforward and I really enjoyed them in the same amount as I did live. On top of all that, you notice that the band likes to toy around and experiment with their melodies, so various tempos and styles of playing can be heard on this release.
So in case you skipped my concert review, what's the deal with "Expectations"? They throw at us some truly emotionally charged modern hardcore, where you can hear a lot of possible influences, ranging from "More Than Life", "Carpathian", "Ruiner" and even some "Funeral For A Friend" moments, all the while being twisted with a touch of their own style. Pretty much everything I liked about them live has been transferred onto the recordings. Usually I end up liking these types of bands more during gigs than on recordings, but here it ended up being equally enjoyable. I ended up rewinding the seven songs present on this release numerous times and each time they just keep growing on you.
Their songs are very dynamic and energetic, consisting of an equal dose of rushing, chest pounding tunes and slower, more dragging sections. The faster melodies can truly throw a punch at your ears, something that I remember surprising me quite a lot last year. There's a fine number of atmospheric sections floating on this release and they manage to slightly push this band away from those more generic and common hardcore acts. At moments, their tunes come close to sounding like a fairly heavy post rockish incarnation and an accent is put on the overall ambient. Faster song sections are pretty straightforward and I really enjoyed them in the same amount as I did live. On top of all that, you notice that the band likes to toy around and experiment with their melodies, so various tempos and styles of playing can be heard on this release.
I also loved the occasional appearances of other band members on vocals, who sound awesome altogether and definitely add a lot of flavor to the overall feel of the tracks. "Only Real When Shared" is an excellent example of this, since it features the drummer on vocals, if I recall well from their live performance. Singalongs, or well screamalongs, are also present which is a thing really loved by yours truly.
This manifestation of "Expectations" comes in CD format, released on 25 March 2012. It arrives in a really neat, high quality gatefold package. Once you open it, the outside expands the cover picture while the inside pages reveal the lyrics. The overall design is rather simplistic, yet oozes with melancholy. If you are interested in hearing or downloading this release you can do so on the band's bandcamp page found here. Additionally, if you desire to grab some other merch, the band has set up a big cartel page, which you can visit here. On both links you will notice that the dudes managed to put out some more new material, an EP named "Gone", so check it out while you're at it.
Overall, this is a really neat release. The band managed to spark a fire with their potential and they don't seem willing to stop. "Expectations" already announced that they are booking a new European tour next May, about which I will make a post soon enough. I am yet to take a listen to their newly released recordings and my readers might beat me to it, but if they continued in the fashion of this self-titled then you have nothing to fear. Check them out, stay tuned for the tour dates and I hope you enjoyed the read.
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