Like Moths To Flames - When We Don't Exist

My relationship with metalcore of different sorts has been ultimately ambivalent throughout the years. In general it has long been among the genres that I follow or own in CD-form the least compared to several, several others. Maybe on a bi-annual or even more scant frequency an album like God Forbid’s IV: Constitution Of Treason comes out that has me even in slight disbelief because despite the genre-specific connotations, it sounds so damn consistently awesome. Point is, I do admit having a level of prejudice or “attitude” with an album like this. Having acknowledged that, the case of Columbus, Ohio’s Like Moths To Flames remains as helpless in front of me as it would if I would acknowledge nothing. Driven by turbo-charged guitars and a tight rhythm section, the band has a clear direction of hardcore-tinged melodic metal with plenty of breakdowns, hoarsely shouted verses mixed with cleanly gleaming choruses and angsty lyrical themes. A liking towards Meshuggah seems evident with the ever so slight vibes of math-trickery here and there. The problem with this whole package is that as with power metal at the turn of the previous millennium, there seems to be such a flood of this stuff currently that nothing makes these guys stand out. Nothing is god-awful (well, the occasional screamo-nuances in the otherwise competent vocal work does annoy the hell out of me), technically these dudes handle their craft well, especially for such a seemingly young age. it’s just so mediocre. I guess one can find above-par melodies in You Won’t Be Missed or Praise Feeder but if the best songcraft praise I can dish out is about an occasional melody line in some songs, things are not peachy. Overall, nothing is sticking after several listens and it makes me wonder what a record label as big as Nuclear Blast has heard in this group. Hopefully such a big achievement relatively early in a career will motivate these guys in the songwriting department because When We Don't Exist is about the most mediocre album I’ve gone through in years.