Review Summary: Considerable potential in the form of technical ability is wasted on a bad breakdown fest. The vocalist isn't very good either.
A couple of days ago, I walked into a theater and watched the film
Babylon A.D. - not because I wanted to, but because my friend chose it on his birthday. The story had quite a bit of potential, but ultimately fell flat when it was left undeveloped. Nothing else was very good - the dialogue could've been written in fifteen minutes, only one person had any real acting ability and even a couple action scenes were too fake to enjoy. Before I lose everyone with this short review, let me sum up my thoughts on this movie: "wasted potential". It's exactly how I would summarize
Rareform as well.
At first, the album appears to be quite good, as "Berzerker" opens with guitars blazing and drums pounding. The guitarists and drummer certainly have technical skill, and first-time listeners have to hope this will be put to good use. In their best moments, After the Burial bear mild resemblances to
Protest the Hero or
Between the Buried and Me: wild, chaotic and heavy metal, seemingly just going in a dozen directions but simultaneously a cohesive unit of musicians. Sadly, these moments are fairly rare on
Rareform. Then something happens a mere thirty four seconds in:
The vocalist opens his mouth.
Let me make it clear: Grant isn't a
terrible vocalist. However, he is fairly weak, delivering a raw, throaty and unenjoyable growl throughout a good deal of
Rareform. Remember that when I say 'raw' I don't mean that's a good thing, because Grant sounds like Don Campan's (
Waking the Cadaver) more talented brother. His high scream is a little better, but in the end
Rareform suffers significantly because these extremely rough vocals are completely unenjoyable. After the Burial needs to fire said member immediately if they hope their music is going to be very good.
The problems continue: like almost every metalcore band out there, After the Burial really likes using breakdowns. This wouldn't be a problem if they were good, but predictably they're not. At least one-third of
Rareform consists of breakdowns - almost always, these will find the guitars chugging away in quick bursts while the drummer abuses his double bass and pounds the snare and a cymbal. When the breakdowns don't follow this formula, the band employs a somewhat oddly timed rhythm (most notably in opener "Berzerker"). This does about as much good as spraying some perfume in a locker room - it smells better, but still stinks.
As mentioned before, there are enjoyable moments to found on the album. Those would be any time the guitarists are playing by themselves, and the intro of "Aspiration". The latter gets mentioned because it shows that the band can be melodic: as the guitarists melodically harmonize with each other, hope says that this might last for a while. It doesn't. Less than thirty seconds in, a breakdown starts, and the vocalist opens his mouth yet again. "Aspiration" tries to incorporate this melodic moment either between or with heavier elements, but never quite works the right way.
Rareform is easily one of the most disappointing records I've heard in awhile. It's not because of how bad it is, but because it could be so much more. The members of After the Burial can obviously play their instruments, but they need to fire their vocalist, turn the bass up a little, decrease use of breakdowns and focus on actual songwriting. These changes could make their next album good or even great, but for now you really should pass on
Rareform.
Download if you must:
Berzerker
Aspiration
