On June 26th, 2012, Mainstream Scare released their second EP entitled For The Record. This six-song release is a perfect blend of catchy choruses and heavy breakdowns, which is a surefire way to catch the hearts and ears of many metalcore fans. Based out of Orange County, California, these five dudes are sure to make a big splash with this release.
The album begins with their intro song, “This Means
Nothing”. It slowly builds to a nice breakdown that is accented with the use of
pretty cool voice effects on the screams of “Just for the record, this means
nothing to me”.
“The Ventriloquist” is up next, and this starts off hard and
heavy with a few swift breakdowns and catchy screams including “Yeah, I’m
better than you, so show me what you got”. These kinds of in-your-face lyrics
are something I love to hear, and Mainstream Scare has loads of them. After a
good chorus, it's back to the grind with another great breakdown, which is a
common theme throughout this EP.
The third song on For
The Record is “I Wish,” and it is my favorite on the album. It features
the catchiest chorus, and contains more pissed off lyrics that make the
immensely heavy breakdowns seem even harder. The title track, “For The Record,”
is next. About halfway through, they feature a cool piano tune, which is a good
offset to the normal synth noises. It’s another strong track, with lots of mosh
time to offer.
“American Horror” is the fifth track, and probably the least
interesting one of the bunch. It’s not bad by any stretch, but is close enough
to a filler track that it goes by largely unnoticed. For The Record ends with “Perfect Enemy,” which starts with an
effect that really reminds me of Snoopy’s jaw harp. It evolves into a brutal
breakdown, which then transitions into more and more breakdowns. It fades out
with a piano groove, and the EP is finished.
Overall, I was really impressed by Mainstream Scare. Their ability
to incorporate catchy clean vocal sections in with their style of
breakdown-driven metalcore is hard to come by, and they do it better than most.
With a handful of solid songs, Mainstream Scare has assured themselves a spot
in my most played pile, and they should stay they for quite awhile.
ehhh this review surprised me. I'm from Orange County and no one really likes this band around here, except for newjacks of course. In fact, one of the guitarists got a knife pulled on him at a party for speaking so ignorantly about the world of hardcore/metal. Just kinda seems like their hearts are in the wrong place.
ReplyDeleteBeing from across the country, I couldn't comment on the band personally, as I have never met or spoken with any of them. Because of this, my reviews have to be solely based on the music I hear. This helps to be objective, but could also be seen as a pitfall.
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