Lost For Life – Don’t Let It Consume You
Release Date: 26th February 2021
Label: Dead Serious Recordings
Pre-Save
Genre: Metalcore
FFO: The Amity Affliction, Of Mice And Men, I Prevail.
Review By: Ross Bowie
For the past decade, the metalcore genre has been a rather crowded pool, leaving it hard not only for new bands to break in, but also difficult for older bands to stay afloat. When joining the metalcore scene in 2021, typically bands choose one of two options: you do the same thing bands have been doing since the glory days of Alive Or Just Breathing and Ascendancy, writing catchy and fast-paced riffs that lift into a massive chorus that fans will be singing for years to come; or, you come into the genre with new ideas that will somehow set you apart from those around you. However, Don’t Let It Consume You, the debut album by Lost For Life, fails to achieve either of these targets. The band are a two-piece who, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have never been in the same studio together and it regrettably shows. The result is an introductory record that is more mediocre than metalcore.
Stay The Same is the second track on the album and sets the tone for the rest of the 30-odd-minute playthrough. Literally. If only I had known the title of this track was a sign of things to come, as its blueprint could be applied to almost every other track on the album. A key component of metalcore is finding that sweet spot between clean and screamed vocals, and the quality of your band lives and dies on this hill. Lost For Life are yet to find that perfect balance. The usually heavier verses do not seem to hit as hard as the band was intending, and the choruses are missing that elevated feel that so many of their peers manage to craft so brilliantly. However, the underwhelming track list cannot be held solely responsible for this lukewarm delivery. The production of this record seems to offer the band little favors, with the occasional distinctive and melodic lead guitar line becoming lost in the mix, and inevitably fading away when the chorus stumbles in.
Despite my previous criticisms, this album is not without merit. Detroit is the one track that seems to break out from the metalcore bingo card and offers something more unique. The sombre intro bursts into a heavy verse, but this time the band find that balance of reserved, clean guitars combined with a two-pronged vocal attack. Its chorus is the highlight of the record. Detroit shows that if Lost For Life can break out of the mould and push their ideas just that bit further then they could find that innovation this album is missing.
You can’t help but feel bad for this band as forming during a global pandemic – prohibiting you from even recording together – is a tall order and it makes sense that the end product would be somewhat directionless. Yet, the fact that Lost for Life is made up of just two musicians is palpable in the end result, and suggests the limited collaboration on the record did more harm than good. Some time cutting their teeth on the road and bringing more musicians into the fold to broaden their ambition could see them mature into something worthy of note. Until then, in the pool of the metalcore scene, Don’t Let it Consume You does little to keep itself above the current.
(2 / 5)
