Liste der Bands Metalcore Forever In Promise Into the Storm

Forever in Promise, a metalcore band from the United States, is here with their debut EP Into the Storm. Like many, Forever in Promise have adopted a type of metalcore which, in nature, is similar to; Asking Alexandria, The Air I Breathe and Attack Attack, who incorporate synths into everyday metalcore sound and creates the emphasis on emotion with melody. However, who has delved down into the underground/relatively-underground scene within the past few years will know that this style of metalcore is very common and has become quite a cliché of what the genre has to offer. This over-indulging of the genre has made the majority of bands seem somewhat generic (since they pretty much recycle the same sound over and over again between bands). The only way for a band to stand out is to play the game (of metalcore) better than the others… has Forever in Promise done this? Well, shall we find out?

The first thing that I noticed about Into the Storm are the clear implications towards water and ocean. The cover, the EP title and sounds of waves crashing on the shore during the introduction, it’s obvious isn’t it? Now this may not seem significant to some people, however many bands use it to represent some kind of scope of atmosphere which is typically reflected in their music. Forever in Promise have reflected this rather well their music by incorporating elements which have references to water, but more importantly have connotations towards solitary and sadness which is what I think is the primary theme that I receive from Into the Storm. Apart from the lyrics and album cover, Forever in Promise have incorporated their synths in a strategic manner by drowning out the clean vocals at some points throughout the course of the tracks. They are; soft, carry for a substantial amount of time and just sound like they’ve been stretched and distorted. Kind of like… someone trying to speak underwater, perhaps? I think Forever in Promise should be commended for relating their ideas to some kind of stimulus, it works really well.

Although I have made a few remarks about Forever in Promise which make Into the Storm sound “cute”, but don’t get me wrong, it is easy to tell that these guys are as pissed off as any other metalcore/deathcore band. During the heavier passages in this EP, it seems like Into the Storm were looking to burst a few ear drums because it just sounds loud. When I mean loud, I don’t mean “I have my volume too high” (false… you can never have your volume too high while listening to metal), but it just sounds really big, big as in “massive” as opposed to “scopey”. The atmosphere during the verses can have a pretty darn thick atmosphere at times (choruses are typically soft). They just apply layers upon layers of sound on top of one another to achieve this effect which can evoke some head bobbing actions. This is great for the EP because it contrasts with the softer stuff, giving it a little bit of character.

As far as musicianship goes, Into the Storm seems very simplistic but all regards. The guitar riffs rely more on their tone and distortion rather than the technicality/skillfulness to get it through. The drumming is has a very simple and predictable pattern (something that most people have heard before) which keeps a relatively steady pace throughout the entire course of the EP. The vocals… nothing spectacular. The distorted vocals are fairly raspy and dirty which is as expected, and the clean vocals are smooth and quite monotonous but they still blend in quite well with the rest of the music. However, one thing that I’d like to point out about the clean vocals is that they sound just a tad too weak for the music sometimes. It doesn’t seem like there is enough force behind them to really make them stand out during the choruses (which is something they should be doing). All this simplicity, is not necessarily a bad thing my many regards (hey, if I complained about everything being simple, I would only have maybe one or two bands that I listen to) because progressive metalcore is a form of music which possess a calming essence, in other words it does not need be complicated to sound decent. However I wonder about the implications this may have on a full length album because this is only a short EP and already it can feel it getting repetitive. Will this type of metalcore still keep my interest at track 13? Probably not, so throwing a little bit of variety might be a thing that Forever in Promise could improve on in their later and longer releases.

I think the real key to Forever In Promises music is definitely the song writing. I mean, sure, it’s not overly spectacular, but it’s what really makes Forever in Promise. Not the vocals, not the guitar work, not the breakdowns… the song writing. That being said, I cannot really extend on their song writing apart from “it’s slightly better than average”. I mean, there is nothing really magical going on here, nothing worthy of a Grammy or a Nobel Prize. However there are enough twists and turns throughout the EP to keep it interesting at the very least (which is great!). I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the production of Into the Storm sounds a little rough, especially with the timing. It seems like the bass guitar and drums are lagging behind the synths and guitars which might explain why the song writing sounds very generic because I think there is potential in the music, there is just some little glitch in the execution.

Overall, Forever in Promise have made quite a decent piece of progressive metalcore with Into the Storm. The atmosphere in this EP is absolutely spot on. It’s an exquisite mix of melodious passages with some bone crushing ambience with some synths on the side. Although there might be some problems with the production of the EP, the clean vocals, repetition of sounds which is stopping this from becoming a better sounding EP. The; Raspy vocals, heavy bass slides, good positive atmosphere and not bad song writing make this EP a worthwhile venture for anyone who is into some good progressive metalcore. For first time listeners to Forever In Promise, I recommend the track “The Deepest Part is You” immediately followed by “A Message from Home” it should give you a good impression on what this band is all about. Summing up all the positives, and all the negatives, I’m going to give this album a 13/20. I can’t wait to hear what they have next.