Metalcore debut from Birmingham's newest export
Prog is dead, long live prog. No, seriously. Random Conflict may be one of the newest wave of ‘metalcore’ bands out there, but even this genre is not immune from the pretentious grandiose scheme that is the Concept Album, at least in part. ‘Escapism’ is apparently based around the theme of the film The Prestige, about the tragedy that occurs when two magicians compete to create the ultimate illusion. As an idea, it’s inspired, but in practice it’s difficult to pick up on this in the music. But the clearest line in ‘Knives and Lint’ (and probably the whole album) is the Joker’s immortal “Why so serious…?” (Intentionally or not?)- Aren’t we mixing our movie history here?
The Pledge is an introduction, obviously meant to be atmospheric, but it’s hard to hear the relevance to the rest of the album. I should mention that Random Conflict differ from other bands in having two vocalists. On stage it probably works really well, but here it’s difficult to distinguish who sings what, there’s so little difference in the sounds of the voices. It’s lacking the dynamics and variation that would distinguish the group from the rest of the genre. Again, nice idea, but somehow left incomplete and unfinished.
Tracks like ‘Ballrooms and Blood Trails’ are definitely not easy listening, and the group seem to be on a mission to play harder, faster, slicker, and grittier than any other band out there. But does that make for good music? Hit and miss at best, the more memorable tracks include the clearer and more varied ‘The World Is Full Of Skydivers’, the instrumental fluidity of ‘Heart On Sleeve, Head Above Water’, and the beautiful riff of ‘Escapism’ itself. I’m a little confused about what this album is meant to achieve: on one hand it takes itself incredibly seriously (a fault of the genre in general), and on the other they put in silly voice-overs mid-track, hinting at a sense of humour. Choose! Choose!
But lets cut Random Conflict some slack; it is after all their debut album. And once we get into the album the relentless pace, fury, and passion of the group shine through, and it’s easy to see how these guys have become popular on the live circuit. Musically, it’s tight, and in concept at least, pretty creative. But it’s obvious that it’s a debut, and there’s so much untapped potential here it’s painful. And every time my mind wandered slightly, I had to look at the CD player screen to tell which track I was on, never a good sign. We can only hope that the guys pick up on their potential and move a somewhat staid and tired genre on a bit.