Review Summary: Needs more breakdowns.
Upon starting this review I estimate I have listened to this album close to 40 times, each time its effects hardly waning. The intro begins. Creeping violins and various city noises can be faintly heard, swelling until I am on the edge of my seat, awaiting for THAT part. That part where the keyboard and guitar chugs drop simultaneously like an atomic bomb (or any other explosive of immense physical capabilities). Perhaps it's the scene kid in me that causes this adoration. After all, it is but a heavy chug, isn't it?
That's what a lot of this album is - deep deathcore-esque gutturals, various patterns of chugs and breakdowns interspersed with plenty of melodic guitar bits and keys that barely, often unnoticeably permeate the wall of sound. In spite of how incredibly simple and formulaic this is, it works so well that it's almost mind boggling. Perhaps it is the sheer passion between every song, the feeling that the gorgeous melodies capping off the end of "Hero" are completely authentic. Perhaps it is the unbridled sense of fury and imminence in the thunderous drumming of "Scissorhands". Maybe it is the ridiculous power of the hooks present, such as the catchy opening riff of "The Writer". Maybe it is all of these things, melding together to create the perfect melodic metalcore concoction.
I suppose it all makes sense that this is an album tailored towards me and my ilk. It ticks all the marks. Heavy chugs? Check. Predictable melodic sections? Check. Mid ranged growls interspersed by harsh shouts and the occasional "BLEGHH"? Check. Yet, I can't help but feel like this is the peak of its style of music. It's the authenticity, the energy in which this is played. The sense that Perception takes every good quality of "melocore" and pushed it to its absolute max. In more condensed terms: this is an amazing ***ing album, and you should listen to it.
