2022 shapes up to be one of the best years in terms of hardcore releases. Counterparts’ newest work A Eulogy For Those Still Here could be one of their best releases to date. Counterparts were never one of those “us against the world” bands, but more a “world against us” bands. The album once again is about personal loss, the fear thereof and so much more.
Singer Brendan Murphy is not known for writing uplifting, happy lyrics, more like the complete opposite of it A Eulogy For Those Still Here feels like it could be the bands most personal album yet. The topics of the album seem pretty narrow from the outside: loss, death and the angst thereof, but every avid Counterparts listener will know that this is only part of the story. The heart-wrenching lyrics are accompanied by some of the best instrumental parts in the genre and proof that the band developed their own unique style in over a decade of their existence.
All of this should be clear right from the start, even for new listeners. ”Whispers Of Your Death” opens the album incredibly well, it is everything the band stands for. The lyrics are about Murphy’s cat Kuma and his fear of losing her. Unfortunately Kuma passed away since the release of the track. Loss is a real threat and writing songs about such personal topics makes them so much more tangible and understandable.
The struggle with writing lyrics like this get expressed on ”Sworn To Silence”. For bands, especially their lyricists, it can tough to relieve traumatic experiences through music again and again, but it can also be cathartic to them. This struggle can also be a reason why musicians stop playing these songs live (like Clapton and ”Tears In Heaven”) or bands disbanding entirely (like Casey). We can only hope that Counterparts will continue their musical endeavors, but one should never be too certain that they might just stop doing so.
This fits the whole topic of the album pretty well though. Loss is the final stage of pretty much everything, be it to live, a relationship or anything else. While this is probably subconsciously know by everyone, not many people dare to talk about it as openly as Counterparts since their first album.
Fortunately the band still felt inspired to write about those negative topics and can bring some catharsis to listeners around the globe with their incredible new album. The dark tone of their music might not appeal to everyone, but if you’re into it, this album is for you. It has everything one could look forward to in a modern hardcore album: Pounding drums, heavy guitars and breakdowns for days and some of the most heartbreaking vocals out there.
