Rockfreaks.net

But We Try It

Dead Lights

Written by: PP on 08/02/2011 03:29:01

One of the newer Massacre Records bands is But We Try It, a german 'thrashcore' band that represents a slightly different sound to what we've come to expect from this metal mammoth. "Thrashcore", you say, "what's that?", and you pose a very valid question because on surface, But We Try It's sound is essentially metalcore through and through. The key difference between your typical Rise Records band and But We Try It is that whilst the former have been busy raping the Gothenburg scales for close to a decade now, the latter's approach seems to be playing metalcore with a thrash metal twist instead.

That already gives But We Try It a much more 'metal' sound instead of the scenecore stuff, though the melodeath inspiration does raise its ugly head in the mix quite often. Don't get me wrong, I love me some quality Gothenburg-inspired metalcore, but given the immense amount of bands playing that very style and the abundance of excellent records in the genre already, new bands are simply going to have to do better than But We Try It on "Dead Lights", their debut album. The guitars are melodic, but unsurprising and predictable, following similar scales and tapped melodies as so many other bands in the genre - most notably old All That Remains, and you can stretch that comparison into later In Flames material as well as At The Gates, especially on "City Of Ghosts". That wouldn't be so bad, but for some reason these Germans have opted out of the screaming-standard predominant in the style, using an inexplicably terrible shriek (black metal style) instead. The positive thing is that it's all very decipherable and as such, a song like "The Great Disaster" benefits because the lyricism can be catchy enough to draw your attention. But overall, it feels extremely weak and lacking of real power, as if the vocalist is having trouble garnering enough wind in his throat to push the style off convincingly.

If the vocals were better, "Dead Lights" would be a much better album by definition, but still years away from being anywhere near the top, or even middle-tier bands in the genre. The reason is: we've heard it all before, and we've heard it all before much, much better than here, even if there are quite a few decent melodies on this record. It's just that in contrast with the best output in the genre, But We Try It sound very, very unimpressive. But We Try It? Well, try harder.

Download: The Great Disaster
For the fans of: In Flames, At The Gates, old All That Remains
Listen: Myspace

Release date 28.01.2011
Massacre Records