Last week multiple bands and people posted about this album in their status, thus I felt the need to check it out and OH DAMN! This new EP by Foreign Hands is just one of the best metalcore releases in ages.
If you’ve read my Dying Wish review last year you know I love me some good old-school metalcore and Bleed the Dream just fits right in and it is really unfortunate that it is only a 15 minute EP and not a whole album.
After the short intro ”Anemoia” clearly lays out the path we will travel for this album, Foreign Hands take no prisoners with their unrelenting, yet often very melodic sound. I felt taken back to school, when I listened to this kind of music a lot. The distorted guitars and punchy drums are almost screaming at you: ”Yo, you gotta mosh!” And when the song is over ”Separation Souvenir” picks up the torch and continues where it left off. The vocals in this song often reminded me of Counterparts, the song structure does too. Here we also get a better taste of what the, very tastefully incorporated, clean vocals sound like. ”A Cardiac Winter” is just such a traditional metalcore song, it melts my heart. From the heavy start, to the beautiful chorus to the breakdown. It is just fantastic. When the aforementioned breakdown hits, you are forgiven for completely demolishing your listening room. It is just that good. I don’t know if it is just me, but the chorus here sounded a bit like Thursday, at least from a vocal aspect.
The shortest track ”Hesitation Marks” makes up it for its brief running time with the sheer force Foreign Hands serve you with this track. The overall sound of the album is so great for a metalcore album. It is not produced to hell and back or compressed to death. It has this grittiness and fat sound to it, that makes the album a joy to listen to.
It’s almost a shame that we are already at the last song, the titular ”Bleed the Dream”, but damn this is a good one. I love how effortlessly the transition between the heaviness of their sound to a clean sung chorus is completed. It feels really natural and very “traditional”. This song also serves as a great outro to this outstanding EP.
When I first listened to this EP, I felt the need to put on some black vans and to start tearing down my walls. It is just such a powerful sound and a real joy to listen too. This EP is hopefully just an appetizer for a new album in the near future, because I am more than ready for it and if you crave some good metalcore beating, this one is just perfect for you.
