Schyza

I like melodic death metal a lot, especially bands like Hypocrisy, Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Kalmah. Each one of those bands I listed represents a bit of a different level of melodic death metal within the death metal subgenre. TBDM has technicality and brutality, Arch Enemy has almost exactly the same sound as when they were first started, Kalmah is emphasizes melodiousness, and Hypocrisy is very atmospheric. Unfortunately Sandbridge is very much like Killswitch Engage, they're very hardcore influenced. Sandbridge also comes across like an Arch Enemy mimic.

The riffs from the bassist and the guitarist sound very much inspired by Arch Enemy with a dose of metalcore sans any form of a breakdown. There is nothing special in the riffs and it actually gets quite repetitive and it's noticeable that the bassist is performing simple lines and doesn't add any depth to the guitar work. It remains very much like what you would hear with Arch Enemy, but without the complexity of the riffings. It comes off as being very emotional and atmospheric in respect. Despite the fact that the guitar and bass are quite derivative, they're also very well composed, it shows that they're quite competent with their instruments. The drumming is a lot like In Flames drummer, it's quite light for the musical style and doesn't make it any heavier. The drumming is actually the worst part, the blast beats suck, the fills suck, and the rolls are just bad. They could have done so much better by hiring a better drummer. The vocals are petty decent, their lead vocalist performs some very Arch Enemy inspired growls and screams, she sounds almost exactly like Angela Gossow at certain points. She also sings, and it's quite reminiscent of the former vocalist of The Agonist, who is now Arch Enemy's vocalist. They have a secondary vocalist, and he's horrible. His death growls are terrible and detract from the quality of the music. He also does these hardcore type shouts on one of the last tracks and all it makes you want to do is tell him to shut the fuck up. I guarantee that you'll enjoy her vocal performances compared to that of the secondary vocalist.

There are a lot of great qualities on this album, and a lot of down right horrible aspects. The hardcore influences in each track absolutely ruin the quality, it makes one want to immediately turn off the record and listen to something else. Though the Arch Enemy inspired parts add a lot of comfort to the music, and makes it more enjoyable. From the first track to the last you'll be enjoying yourself, and then smacked abruptly in the face with bullshit that shouldn't be on a melodic death metal record. If this band produces more music, I absolutely hope they don't let that man perform any further vocals, I hope they get a better drummer, and I hope they expand musically so they don't sound like an Arch Enemy and In Flames rehash, with a dose of shitty metalcore.