REVIEW: Honour Crest – Metrics | Under the Gun Review

REVIEW: Honour Crest – Metrics

August 29th, 2012

Kriston McConnell

Artist: Honour Crest
Album: Metrics
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Indianola Records

To be honest, I was not really familiar with Honour Crest before listening to Metrics, but me being me I was more than happy to check these guys out as I love discovering new music. Honour Crest are a five piece metalcore group hailing from Viriginia Beach, Virginia. This album, Metrics, is their third release following their self titled EP and their debut album A Change In Perspective. Needless to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

I’ll say this – as a whole, I really enjoy this album. Comparing this to their two previous releases, I noticed a huge difference in the production of the music. The music is cleaner, it sounds like it’s been produced better, written better and is overall a significant step forward. If you had me listen to “Lighthouses” from their EP and “Lighthouses” on Metrics I would not have been able to tell they were the same song.

“Flux” is the first track on the album, and it easily sets the tone for the entire album. None of the individual parts are overpowering, and the clean vocals mix in perfectly with the heavy unclean vocals. I’m a fan of a good amount of synth in music, and I feel like these guys found a good balance of synth with hardcore. Some people think there shouldn’t be synth or heavy electronic parts in metal music, I disagree. I think there’s a place for it as long as it’s done well and isn’t the same thing repeated throughout the record.

While I would recommend someone to listen to all of the tracks, here are a couple of others that are noteworthy. “We Walked On Glass (For What Seemed Like Days”, “Crawling Through The Quicksand” and the closing track, “Reason With Myself”. These specific tracks help keep the momentum of the album going and are good enough on their own to enjoy over and over again.

My biggest issue is that there are only eight tracks, which really is not that big of an issue considering there are far worse things this album could be other than just a little bit too short for my taste. I would also liked to have seen a little bit more variety in the songs. While a couple of the songs offered up some unique elements, it feels like there could be some additional opportunity for expansion. I would love to see them push the creative envelope further in future releases. I have no doubt they could pull it off.

Honour Crest offer a lot of electronic sound, some booming bass and plenty of ear shattering unclean vocals. If you’re looking for some fresh blood to add to your music playlist then these guys are it. I believe they have a bright future ahead of them, and I’m sure this is not the last we’ll hear of Honour Crest. Be sure to pick up Metrics when it’s released September 25.

SCORE: 8/10
Review written by: Kriston McConnell