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Today Forever

Relationshipwrecks

Written by: AP on 07/03/2012 19:01:37

Despite the fact that Today Forever have been making music for the best part of a decade, it is only through their third studio album, "Relationshipwrecks", that I make my acquaintance with the German melodic hardcore troop. I find this strange, listening to the album, as any fan of Comeback Kid such as myself is likely to appreciate the kind of tunes the band writes: a socially and politically charged coming together of melody and violence. It is not the most original of approaches, but Today Forever do have a knack for writing riveting songs beaming with passion, sincerity and protest.

As such, it makes little difference that Today Forever often venture into stylistic territory that is precariously similar to Comeback Kid - Scott Wade and Andrew Neufeld both even make vocal cameos on "Dynamics" and "The Trial", respectively; though it is ironically without their presence in the empowering anger of "Lady on the Shore" and "Good Weekend", that the similarities are most pronounced. Other times I would readily punish a band for so remorselessly plagiarising another, but because Today Forever manage to push their songs to a level where they can be considered on par with their idols, the issue becomes almost irrelevant. Then there is the fact that the songs on "Relationshipwrecks" are not exclusively limited to paying tribute. The likes of "Waiting Forever", "Boreout" and "The Trial" (even with the assistance of Neufeld) help the band establish an identity of their own; a far more metallic claim on the genre than Comeback Kid have ever made. In them Today Forever are at their absolute heaviest with a pair of songs that will prove sure shot live staples for their ample moshing and circle pit opportunities, not to mention the gang-yelled calls-to-arms.

The grand impression to draw from all of this is that while Today Forever are by no means pushing the envelope of what melodic hardcore is, they do possess considerable skill at writing powerful and emotive songs within the genre's confines, and at arranging this music into an album structure that never once brings the listener close to a lull. The songs are arranged in such a way that the urgent, the beautiful and the brutal elements are constantly juxtaposed, as best exemplified by the trio "Stop Boring Us", "Relationshipwrecks" and "Soothe My Soul", to create a listening experience that oscillates between intense anger, exquisite melodies and crunching acrimony, both between one song and another and within the songs themselves.

To sum it all up, "Relationshipwrecks" is unlikely to tickle your interest if you're on the lookout for innovative or progressive music. But if melodic hardcore as professed by Comeback Kid, The Ghost Inside and Verse speaks to you, then the selection of potent bangers laid out across its half hour running length should be exactly your cup of tea.

Download: Lady on the Shore, Good Weekend, Boreout, The Trial
For the fans of: Comeback Kid, The Ghost Inside, Verse
Listen: Facebook

Release date 06.01.2012
Bastardized Recordings / Verona Records