Review Summary: Refreshing melodic hardcore release that seems to be an ode to past hardcore greats.
It Prevails is a five piece melodic hardcore band from Denver, Colorado. They are composed of vocalist Ian Fike, guitarists Alex Kutsche and Bobby Valeu, bassist Nate Dorval, and drummer Ian Clark.
The band's debut full length album (The Inspiration) was released by the recently successful record label "Rise Records." The label seemed intent on capitalizing off of every new, hot topic trend and it was no surprise that the band was released from the label shortly after their debut. Despite this minor setback, the band was determined to write and record their second full length effort, "Capture & Embrace."
This time around, vocalist Ian Fike has decided to showcase not only his harsh vocal talent but his cleans as well. Throughout the album the listener is bombarded with harsh vocals and chugging riffs that seem very reminiscent of earlier hardcore bands like
Shai Hulud , then quickly thrown into a beautiful clean section that could please fans of any genre. His singing voice is almost perfect except for the fact that Ian doesn't experiment enough with his vocal range as he probably could. The lyrics will also remind you of past hardcore bands which is in no way a bad thing. They come across as sincere, smart and could feed you with your daily dose of inspiration.
The instrumental organization is a huge improvement from the bands previous effort but this is done so, without compromising any of the emotion put into each song.
The only real downfalls of the album are the bands unwillingness to go beyond the typical hardcore formula, which can be argued for a positive or negative.
The album shows the incredible potential held by the members of "It Prevails" and lets only a small fraction of it out. The lyrics are no doubt sincere and the new found organization is enough to keep the listener interesting up until the albums conclusion.
