Reviews : Albums : Hopesfall, "The Satellite Years"

North Carolina's Hopesfall is yet another band jumping on the metalcore bandwagon. Though in recent history there have been a few groups that have separated themselves from all the repetitive noise in this scene (The Postman Syndrome, for exmaple), Hopesfall is not entirely successful in it's attempt to do this. Though the music on The Satellite Years does manage to be more moody than the average Dillinger Escape Plan ripoff, the effect is as uncalculated and scattered as the majority of music in this genre.

Hopesfall plays around with complicated, softer guitar passages and clean vocals, as well as some emo and punk influences, even managing to sound like a schizophrenic version of Blink 182 meets All Else Failed on the track "A Man Exits." Unfortunately, what they're not doing on most songs is focusing on making the most eloquently phrased, concise statement with their songs. Sure, some may call these tracks emotional roller coasters, but the song's purpose then is anything but explained. It seems to me that if a band is going to careen between genres, either the music had better be much more than what's offered within those genres separately, or the group had better have a damned good reason for doing it. Hopesfall offers neither.

Standout Tracks    Only the Clouds

Peter Johnston