Since the Aussie metalcore giants Parkway Drive and I Killed the Prom Queen first hit the scene and started spreading their influence all over the musical world, there have always been those out there who dreamed follow in their footsteps (both fame and musically). The more time that passes, the more and more bands I see pop up that adopt the same style of metalcore Parkway Drive and I Killed the Prom Queen used to play. Before, I thought that this unique sound that Parkway Drive and I Killed the Prom Queen had for themselves was exclusive only to the bands in the Australian metalcore scene, but after hearing Beyond The Shore, I think my earlier thoughts have been proved wrong. I’ve always known that bands all over the world take influence from the two Australian metalcore giants, but I have seen none, who have made their influences more conspicuous that Beyond The Shore (not even from the Australian Scene itself).

For those who actively listen to I Killed The Prom Queen (Music For The Recently Deceased in particular), The Arctic Front won’t be a new listening experience and should sound very familiar. The first similarity to point out, are the vocals. If you’re an I Killed The Prom Queen fan and don’t recognise the vocals on The Arctic Front, you should get some hearing aids. When I first heard Beyond the Shore, I could have sworn that The Arctic Front featured I Killed The Prom Queen’s ex vocalist Ed Butcher (for those who don’t know, he was responsible for the amazing vocals in I Killed The Prom Queen’s album “Music for the Recently Deceased”). I have heard many vocalists who make a failed attempt at imitating Ed’s vocals but I must admit that Andrew Louck’s vocals (vocalist for Beyond The Shore) are almost right on and he has done a convincing job, they’re probably the accurate copy I’ve heard so far. But like any musical legend, it would be nearly impossible to make a perfect replica of Ed’s voice.

Although Andrew Loucks has made a solid effort at imitating Ed, he just doesn’t have the power or vocal range that Ed did but he does have a similar tone (which is pretty much what we loved most about Ed). From what we’ve seen in The Arctic Front, Andrew Loucks doesn’t tend to go too high or even too low, he prefers to stay in the mid range. I think that Beyond the Shore have even made and attempt to duplicate the clean vocals as well. The clean vocals in Music For The Recently Deceased (if anyone remembers) were drowned out slightly by the background music and were very soft. Well that’s pretty much what the clean vocals sound like on The Arctic Front (Coincidence? I think not!)

Even musically, Beyond the Shore haven’t really done anything to show us THEIR song writing talent in The Arctic Front. Excuse my paranoia if this isn’t true, but I reckon that a lot of the guitar riffs featured in The Arctic Front might be a little “too” similar to the stuff Parkway Drive wrote. People who have heard Parkway Drive’s album “Boneyards” should recognise them; The pitch and tone of them sound identical, the breakdowns have the same structure. Even though there might just be a handful of original guitar riffs in Arctic Front (there are a few in the track Order of Oceans), the music overall just sounds like something Parkway Dive would write, that’s all I’m saying.

I don’t really think that Beyond the Shore have shown what THEY can do (not with The Arctic Front anyway). There is just nothing original in The Arctic Front, plain and simple. Everything that was featured on The Arctic Front we’ve heard before; the vocals (both clean and distorted), the guitar riffs, the breakdowns and the musical tone in general. But you know what, I actually love it. Let’s face it, our favourite bands aren’t getting any younger and at one point or another they’ll be gone. I Killed The Prom Queen will never be the same without Ed and Deep Blue wasn’t exactly Parkway Drive’s most memorable album. Bands who accurately recreate good old music should be commended for their effort and that’s just what I think Beyond The Shore have done with The Arctic Front. Unfortunately, no matter how much Beyond The Shore tries, they’ll never be as good or better than their superiors if they just copy. I’m curious to hear what they have in store in the future and whether or not they come up with their own sound.

I highly recommend The Arctic Front to any metalcore fan and especially to those who enjoy Australian style hardcore in particular. Shotgun Sunrise is a pretty good example of what Beyond the Shore is all about so for those who haven’t heard these guys, that’d be the place to start. Even though they have done an excellent job at recreating some of the best metalcore the world has ever seen, I’m going to have to give The Arctic Front a 15/20 for the lack of originality.