Review for the singles from A Moment Of Violence, can be heard right here!
As a band these days, it can be tough, if not near impossible to get the recognition that they all work so hard to achieve. Bands are a dime a dozen as the saying goes, but these dimes seem to be getting more and more plentiful and the value of said dimes seem to be dropping drastically, and quickly. With so many bands popping up like Starbucks crappy coffee on every street corner(save your money and make your own coffee at home), how does a band get your attention, how do they get us to check out their music? Do they go online and try to break out there among the social media crowds? Do they hit the stage hard and play their asses off trying to get more and more people to their shows? Well, yeah. Those are the back bones of the industry nowadays, but that too is over populated, and you have to literally sell yourself like a cheap... "lady of the night", in order to get the attention of some promoters that are just going to screw you over anyways, so be careful with anyone asking for money for nothing it return out there, there are sharks everywhere looking to take advantage. So then what is there that a band can do? If all seems hopeless and useless, then what's the point? The Music. The music is the point. If the band has a real passion for their craft and you can hear it in their music and see it in their live performances, then the music is all that matters, period. Bands need to be able to open up to their fans, make themselves vulnerable and be able to "speak" to the people who are giving their music a listen, to grab hold of them and make sure they keep coming back to listen to their music. With that, some bands even incorporate gimmicks or tactics to help them out, live stage antics, costumes, adding and blending different styles and genres to already established ones, all that and more can help a band stand out and be recognized. In the case of, A Moment Of Violence, they seem to kind of take cues from several areas of the things I mentioned and take them and mold them in to their own brand of music. Will it be the catalyst that helps them get their music out there and helps them find that audience they're looking for? Only time will tell, but for now, let us give their music a listen and see for ourselves.
First up from these Floridian rockers, we have a song titled, Forgiveness. Seemingly blending the tropes of a hard rock ballad but a tad heavier with the fabrics of a more metal approach, Forgiveness hits like a classic song that can hit the spot if you're in the mood for something when you just get in one of those moods where you feel like giving up or just want to say, "fuck it all" and close yourself off to the world around you. There are the ups and downs of the more melodic parts woven through with the heavier and more angry sections of the song that keeps things interesting and flowing nicely. They seem to know how to keep the music moving and flowing very well and Forgiveness could easily be up there with some of the radio hits of today. An interesting way for me to start things off with this review, I'm not the biggest ballad fan these days, but I understand their purpose and this song delivers on that purpose and was a rather good listening experience, let's see what else these guys have up their sleeves for us to check out.
Scrape is the following track. This one amps things up a bit and gets things moving, yet still retains that rock and roll vibe and groove meets metalcore, making for a interesting approach to their music. The attention to the groove on this song is infectious, it carries the song forward all the way through until the end. Heavy riffing keeps this song feeling alive and the vocals hit all the right notes to keep the beefier parts feeling and sounding catchy, while in no way sacrificing the heaviness that is heard in this track. My only gripe here is that I heard the perfect spot for a nice guitar solo to lift this song up a bit more, but sadly there was no solo to be heard there, bummer. It isn't a song breaker, but it would have been a nice touch to make this song more complete. Not a bad little track here, we have one more song to go over, we have been moving up the the energy scale a bit with this song, let's see how the final track goes.
A Moment Of Violence keeps the energy going from the previous track and raises it a bit more with the final song that I'll be going over called, Fine. Fine has a more aggressive approach to the riffing, but the vocals and leads keep things more in the vein of the catchy rock styling. The mid song break down is pretty nice and adds that true heaviness that these songs kept teasing at, and it's here in this song on display. A nice and thick fade out of this song comes at you hard and ferocious with some powerful vocal delivery atop more of that heavy and groove laden riffing. This song feels like the band has captured their unique sound and dug in to it, highlighting it for all to hear, this was my stand out track from these guys. If they can continue to tap into this style of music for their bands sound, then I think they can go far within their scene.
After going over these songs a few time, I can honestly say that A Moment Of Violence seem to be on their way to carving out a niche for themselves within the metal scene. Are they the heaviest? No. Are they the most technical? No. But they have a way to blend those things with the classic approaches to good song writing in general. They get heavy when it's needed and keep it groovy and catchy from the moment you press play, and that's what's important. This band has a way to play with your senses, they can sound like a radio band one moment and then step things up a bit the next, but all the while, retaining that hook and drive within their songs that can easily break down boundaries in the metal and rock scene, helping people find something to like about their music. When it comes down to it, A Moment Of Violence write good songs that borrow from all elements of rock and roll and metal and utilize them when necessary within the constructs of each track. If these guys can continue to hone these elements and bring in some of the missing things to the puzzle, guitar solos, a few more memorable moments, such as the mid song section in Fine, and they can find their place among the overcrowded metal scene. This collection of songs is a good example of a band with the makings of something good, and they just need you to go give them your support, which you can over on their social media pages and band camp here! As it stands, I give them a 7.5 out of 10 on the banger scale, with a bit more attention to detail in their music and bringing in those few missing components, they can lift up their music even higher for all of us to enjoy!
Review done by Joshuah Jones, the bassist of The Obsidian Resurrection.
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