It's been almost a decade since Adept last released some new much but now their fans don't have to wait anymore as Blood Covenant brings them back draped in Blood Red visuals and a renewed vigour.
As they celebrate their 20th Anniversary as a band, don't call it a comeback, call redefinition, Adept retaking their place amongst the genre greats. The Swedish band have always played some aggressively precise metalcore and with their fifth album that doesn't change, but it's refined to be more intense and emotional as they've ever been.
Blood Covenant is the sound of a band searching for catharsis, using music to work though the physical and mental scars they have been up against over the last twenty years. It makes this fifth record bolder and braver in scope, increasing the intensity and bringing windscreen, sprawling approach that maybe wasn't as pronounced as before.
After the title track Heaven is the first song to showcase that more vicious streak, while Define Me brings back the choppy grooves of metalcore/nu-metal as You adds the more anthemic melodies on the other side of the coin, segueing neatly into Parting Ways where the aggression is turned up.
Blood Covenant sees Adept return with resilience and power, the reflections of a band in their second decade but the hunger of one in their first. Adept are seeing red here and crates and album of passionate metalcore. 8/10
Aviana - Void (Arising Empire)
More Swedish core now with Void the new album from masked modern metalcore crushers Aviana who bring yet more intensity to their expressive and cinematic modern sound with album four.
With only vocalist Joel Holmqvist removing from the original line up he's moulding the band in his image and the atmospheric is built with the electronic twitching from Iter_Incipere an instrumental intro that lays down the synth driven basis for all of these tracks.
This use of electronics is very popular at the moment and has been in metalcore for a while, in Aviana's case it gives the crushing breakdowns of Father an industrial-tinge, while on Heavenly Sparks there's a breakbeat that moves through the back of the track almost in contrast to the brutal, technicality.
Joel's vocals are just what you want with metalcore, his screams are strong and dripping with venom but his cleans soar with emotion, he's joined by Eddie Berg of Imminence on the final track World's Pulse, but for the rest of the album Holmqvist shows why he's the driving force behind the band.
Joel has a masked band behind him which adds a layer of theatrics to these introspective new tracks, putting this alongside the the electronic driven, beatdown heavy, metalcore makes for potent return from Aviana. 7/10
Currents - All That Follows (Sharptone)
Connecticut based band Currents are comprised of Brian Wille (vocals), Chris Wiseman (guitar), Ryan Castaldi (guitar), Matt Young (drums), and Christian Pulgarin (bass), together they have been forging their own path since 2011.
With Brian joining on vocals in 2015, they really hit their stride and have put four releases under their belt since then, each record guided by their creative drive never to re-tread over old ground, forging their own path and forming their own identity with every release.
They've gained more followers and critical acclaim which has seen them share stages with Parkway Drive, Ice Nine Kills and We Came As Romans, this relentless touring has honed them as creative and performative force.
With All That Follows they have refined this more, drawing from their metalcore history but also increasing the heaviness of their assault for these five new tracks, they claim it's their strongest set of songs and it's hard to disagree as they kick off with first single It Only Gets Darker, huge riffs that move it towards deathcore at times, crushing and ominous with ferocious vocals.
My Severance and Making Circles takes it back to metalcore, on the anthemic choruses of the latter especially, as the former has some math metal moving in the rhythms. Aggression returns for Can't Turn Back, electronics pulsating throughout the back ground as the riffs get heavier and the vocals drip with venom.
Currents have been steadily climbing the ranks of the metalcore scene with their no compromise attitude to their sound, and with All That Follows they deliver their heaviest set of tracks yet. 8/10
Coldrain - Optimize (Century Media Records)
Coldrain are a Japanese metalcore band who have been playing their brand of metalcore since 2007, it's seen them tour with massive international acts and release seven studio albums so far.
They are a rare thing in Japanese metal in that they sing in English, so they've always had a lot of crossover appeal across the world. It also means that they tour religiously, playing to European and UK audiences. In fact a recent show in Germany inspired them to record this five track EP which was realised between their Japanese tour and their recent UK/EU run.
So like with a lot of EP's, Optimize is a way to kick out some new songs in the middle of the tour cycle, between albums, so they can play some brand new tracks in their set. Coldrain's familiar style is all over this EP. From the drum and bass elements of Chasing Shadows, to the emo choruses on the groovy Digitoll and the anthemic heaviness of Free Fall, Coldrain pack this EP with a style you will recognise formed into exciting new cuts. 7/10
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