Roughly a decade ago, metalcore boomed. At its peak, albums were released that are now being branded as classics; these came from the instigators – the likes of Trivium, Machine Head, among others – who all played a pivotal role in bringing forth riff upon riff in a raw, unmatched form. The genre is still alive and well today, of course, but is almost incomparable. Gravesend’s Unforeseen Prophecy start the new year with the release of their three-track EP, Burn the Skies. Only problem is, it has arrived 10 years too late.
The EP opens with the title-track, welded together with recycled riffs and undisguised imitation. Charis Pattison‘s harmonic vocals add something to the out-dated equation but, with female vocalists now in fashion, they aren’t pleasant enough to make a true impact. There are moments of brilliance hidden in ‘The Placebo Effect‘ and ‘Oblivion‘, but they are unearthed through nostalgia more than anything.
On Burn the Skies, Unforeseen Prophecy deliver an EP better suited to the early-Millenium. Times have changed, and so have the pioneers aforementioned. Their work is still celebrated today not because of their timeless quality, but because of the impact they once had. It will take something special to revive this phase of metalcore and, sadly, Burn the Skies is not it.
