Review Summary: Perhaps the most generic metalcore album of 2016.
Do you ever hear a band for the first time, and just think, why? That is exactly what happened following my introduction to this band. They were recommended to me by a friend who claimed they were 'solid' and 'fun' and they were entirely correct. But unfortunately that's all it has going for it.
My initial question of 'why?' was brought to mind after hearing the first track of the band's debut album. Never have I ever listened to band so basic, so by the books, so painfully generic. Interestingly enough, due that fact I can't bring myself to give this album a negative score, because everything about this album is so intentially safe and inoffensive that there's nothing particularly WRONG with it, it's just nothing you haven't heard done much better before. I prevail's debut LP lacks any sense of originality, any sense of identity, just another generic metalcore band that brings nothing new to an increasingly stale genre.
Simply listen to the opening track entitled 'scars' which is a perfectly adequate and enjoyable opener, and quite honestly nearly every other following track is in the same exact vein. Everything about this band was intentially crafted to be loved by screaming 'edgy' teen fans all around the globe. I could go into further description of the musical aspects but it would legitimately be a waste of time to do so, because everything here follows the trends of their contemporaries, from their "we won't back down" title to their mediocre attempts to blend aggression and melody, to the grossly overproduced drum sounds that makes me wonder if the producer has any idea what drums are supposed to sound like. Aside from the obvious lack of innovation and effort in general, 'lifelines' sufferers from an immense lack of variety. All the song lengths are within a one minute range of each other, with the longest track being even less than 4 minutes, leaving no room for song progression, resulting in an album so forgettable and emotionless that you wonder why it was ever recorded in the first place.
All in all, 'Lifelines' is essentially a generically mediocre addition to modern metalcore, that will sit perfectly with fans of bands ranging from the likes of a day to remember to of mice and men, doing very very little to even attempt to differentiate themselves from their peers, but if you consider yourself a large fan of overproduced mainstream metalcore, then by all means give this record a spin, as virtually nothing on it will surprise you.
