Starting off with a fizz but finishing on fire
Perth (Australia) five piece Dyscord have a decent list of bands that they have supported in the three years since their formation. Internationally, it includes Mudvayne, The Haunted, As I Lay Dying and Ill Nino, and their national list isn’t too shabby either with Five Star Prison Cell, Daysend, The Mark Of Cain, Alchemist and Parkway Drive sharing the stage with vocalist James Herbert, guitarists Johannes Chuah and Matthew Herbert, bassist Raffe Houston and drummer John Blythman. The time has come for the release of the debut EP, Arming Within, and up and coming local label Prime Cuts Music, home to Vespers Descent and The Furor, have picked them up to do so.
Divinity signals in no uncertain terms that Dyscord are thrusting themselves headfirst into the saturated metalcore genre. There’s plenty of screaming vocals thanks to James Herbert but at times, the clean vocals seem a little weak and lacking confidence, although they do find their groove along with the music in the melodic finale. A Toast To The Burning Earth offers nothing that hasn’t been tried and tested within the metalcore genre, and in fact, seems quite generic with the exception of the death metal sounding chromatic chord progressions that pop up from time to time before the As I Lay Dying sounding Suffer In Silence delivers another example of the out of place sounding clean vocals that is proving to be somewhat of an Achilles Heel at this point. The slow moving The Day Before I Die manages to make the most of Herbert’s clean vocals via the haunting echo effect that carries them before the beautiful instrumental title track, Arming Within, really shows the first signs of what Dyscord are capable of. Further adding weight to that, is the heavy yet melodic mixed bag that rounds out the EP, titled Senjo. It’s the first track that perfectly balances the band’s metalcore heaviness with the melodic strengths that the band has failed to explore fully to this point. It’s also the first track that allows the band to show some real originality to what they do as well.
They certainly left their run late with the six tracks on this EP. Dyscord were looking like quickly and easily falling into the category of “just another metalcore act” as two-thirds of this EP fail to deliver anything remotely new or interesting in a tired and overcrowded genre. But whatever it was that sparked that last track, they need to do more of as that is where the band’s strengths truly lie. If they can harness whatever that magic is, then these guys may have something more to offer to the Australian metal scene. Time will tell.
(Prime Cuts Music/MGM Distribution)
