Like Moths to Flames – No Eternity In Gold
Release Date: 30th October 2020
Label: UNFD
Bandcamp
Genre: Metalcore
FFO: Memphis May Fire, Fit For A King, Erra, The Devil Wears Prada, August Burns Red, If I Were You.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
Like Moths to Flames have been a metalcore staple over the past decade. Their fifth album, No Eternity in Gold, is their first album under UNFD, a hungry label eating up all the talented bands in the scene from heavyweights like Sumerian & Rise Records. Produced by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland of Atrium Audio, the team behind some metalcore-defining albums such as Constellations by August Burns Red and Polaris’ The Death of Me, there are high hopes for album number 5. Like in the name the band are going for gold, but the album more aptly deserves silver.
Good, successful metalcore since the early 2000’s has generally followed a relatively expectable set of rules; the magic formula. Expect breakdowns, crazy riffs, clean choruses and screamed verses, clean passaged before a final build and the occasional blast beat. It’s not quite a Forrest Gump box’o Chocolates type scenario because you know what you’re going to get, but much like a box of Celebrations, the same elements come in different volumes. Habitual Decline, track number 1, really nails the formula. Intricate riffing structured in a very understandable way tightly woven with a fantastic chorus, with vocals adhering to a semi-shared responsibility. “As far as I’m concerned I never got what I gave” is belted by vocalist Chris Roetter with a great melody, really focusing the impact of the visceral line.
Burn in Water, Drown in Flame has a lovely mix of technical riffing by lead guitarist Jeremy Smith, breakdowns and a soft pre-build section before the last chorus reminiscent of Killswitch Engage. Fluorescent White feels very Erra inspired, with low chugs and high note bends creating an interesting and erratic verse. It doesn’t sound particularly dissimilar from the last few tracks, so God Complex creeps in with its less busy, and (dare I say nu-metal inspired) dark vibe. The tonal shift is a welcome change. YOTM (Year Of The Moth in case you were wondering) has a poppier chorus, with a hint of theatrics in the melodies. The drums are aggressive and fast, guitars choppy and angry – no complaints from me!
Killing What’s Underneath switches it up with clean vocals really taking centre stage for the first half, and Bury Tomorrow-esque riffs creating an modern metalcore crowd-winner. It’s a semi-disguised palette cleanser before the crushing A Servant of Plague comes crashing in with the ferocity of a Viking charge. “The hand of God never feeds, it only bleeds you dry” is screamed with conviction; the energy is peaking here. It’s a track to get the audience splitting some heads in 2021 once the covidpocalypse has passed.
There is a structure to the album; a continual ebb and flow to build and release, build again and release again. It feels natural and at the points where the aggression needs to take a step back, it does. The album has been structured in a very intelligent way and speaks volumes about the experience of the band. Each member really excels; Aaron Evans on bass gets to flex his low-end muscles on Demon of My Own, and Isaiah Perez from Phinehas filling in on drums gets to show off some skilful chops in Selective Sacrifice that blend seamlessly with the rest of the instrumentation.
All of this sounds like a perfect recipe, yet somehow, it never quite ‘wows’. There was never a moment I took a step back to think how sick a riff was. There were sections and fills that were impressive, but nothing that makes No Eternity In Gold worthy of the tallest stand on the podium. It is a good, enjoyable metalcore album that never quite elevates itself to where it needs to be in a saturated market. Like Moths to Flames have created a consistent, enjoyable and cohesive album that most fans of modern metalcore will enjoy, but an aging formula holds it back from forging a unique path forward.
(3.5 / 5)
