Drifting Breed Hope Hereafter
Self-released 2005
By Katalin Sipos
The concise letter accompanying the CD described this as brutal metalcore from Paris, so initially I expected some ultra-heavy metalcore banging right into my head from the speakers. However, the promo CD I found in the packet has instead lots of melodies and other fascinating elements on it. The French band, originally named No Way Out, was formed in 1999, and after some changes in the lineup, they took the name Drifting Breed in 2001. Hope Hereafter is the bands first release, with songs written between 2002 and 2004.
Before giving a listen to the material, I skimmed through the press release and was shocked to read they used duduk on the recording. How come theres an Armenian wind instrument on a brutal metalcore CD? I soon found the explanation in the intro: the short track is an acoustic duet of duduk and tribal drums. It quickly puts you into a mystical, oriental mood, but youre soon awakened from your daydream by the recklessness of Hope Hereafter. After a short percussion intro the French legion deliver their blow at full capacity. They play tight, strict metalcore, a mixture of energetic and brutal thrash, death metal, and dry, pure hardcore aggression. Their music is just as powerful and remorseless as that of Cataract, Slayer or Destruction just to mention a few of the greatest names.
However, the songs of Drifting Breed arent solely about fatal metal blows. The heavy metalcore basis is ornamented with melodic, acoustic, slower, more musical parts, making the bands work rather unique. I could mention here the outro of Hope Hereafter, but a better example would be the beginning of Almost a Stranger, which could even have been written by a progressive, melodic death metal band. Of course, the epic mood is soon shattered by Nicolass hardcore shouts, so the song eventually goes in a heavier direction. Waste Game has a similar structure, while Some Reasons to Kill Me shows the hardest side of the band. It has gigantic thrash themes and death rhythms; however, the tempo is slowed down, so the heaviness becomes even more apparent. Still, the rhythmic pauses and Nicolass shouts leave you in no doubt about the hardcore feature either.
All in all, the most important thing is that the band has written good songs; you just like listening to their demo, even several times in a row. The musical skills of the members are of a high standard (although Im sure they can still develop), and the varied songs easily hold the listeners attention. One or two parts might be a bit too familiar but I didnt really get bothered by them. The sound of the CD is pretty decent: its actually quite hard to believe that its only the bands demo, as a number of LPs have a much poorer mastering.
In short, Im pleasantly surprised by Hope Hereafter. I havent yet had the chance to listen to a really good French band, so its good to see that Drifting Breed have a place on the international metal scene. They outshine quite a number of better promoted bands, especially in the swelling wave of todays metalcore Ive no idea about the potential of Overcome Records, but the guys surely deserve the attention of a label as prominent as, lets say, Metal Blade. Although this demo is quite recent, I can hardly wait for the bands LP, which will hopefully come out soon, too.
8/10
Official Drifting Breed website
Self-released 2005
By Katalin Sipos
The concise letter accompanying the CD described this as brutal metalcore from Paris, so initially I expected some ultra-heavy metalcore banging right into my head from the speakers. However, the promo CD I found in the packet has instead lots of melodies and other fascinating elements on it. The French band, originally named No Way Out, was formed in 1999, and after some changes in the lineup, they took the name Drifting Breed in 2001. Hope Hereafter is the bands first release, with songs written between 2002 and 2004.
Before giving a listen to the material, I skimmed through the press release and was shocked to read they used duduk on the recording. How come theres an Armenian wind instrument on a brutal metalcore CD? I soon found the explanation in the intro: the short track is an acoustic duet of duduk and tribal drums. It quickly puts you into a mystical, oriental mood, but youre soon awakened from your daydream by the recklessness of Hope Hereafter. After a short percussion intro the French legion deliver their blow at full capacity. They play tight, strict metalcore, a mixture of energetic and brutal thrash, death metal, and dry, pure hardcore aggression. Their music is just as powerful and remorseless as that of Cataract, Slayer or Destruction just to mention a few of the greatest names.
However, the songs of Drifting Breed arent solely about fatal metal blows. The heavy metalcore basis is ornamented with melodic, acoustic, slower, more musical parts, making the bands work rather unique. I could mention here the outro of Hope Hereafter, but a better example would be the beginning of Almost a Stranger, which could even have been written by a progressive, melodic death metal band. Of course, the epic mood is soon shattered by Nicolass hardcore shouts, so the song eventually goes in a heavier direction. Waste Game has a similar structure, while Some Reasons to Kill Me shows the hardest side of the band. It has gigantic thrash themes and death rhythms; however, the tempo is slowed down, so the heaviness becomes even more apparent. Still, the rhythmic pauses and Nicolass shouts leave you in no doubt about the hardcore feature either.
All in all, the most important thing is that the band has written good songs; you just like listening to their demo, even several times in a row. The musical skills of the members are of a high standard (although Im sure they can still develop), and the varied songs easily hold the listeners attention. One or two parts might be a bit too familiar but I didnt really get bothered by them. The sound of the CD is pretty decent: its actually quite hard to believe that its only the bands demo, as a number of LPs have a much poorer mastering.
In short, Im pleasantly surprised by Hope Hereafter. I havent yet had the chance to listen to a really good French band, so its good to see that Drifting Breed have a place on the international metal scene. They outshine quite a number of better promoted bands, especially in the swelling wave of todays metalcore Ive no idea about the potential of Overcome Records, but the guys surely deserve the attention of a label as prominent as, lets say, Metal Blade. Although this demo is quite recent, I can hardly wait for the bands LP, which will hopefully come out soon, too.
8/10
Official Drifting Breed website
