Every Hour Kills – Vacua
Release Date: 8th October 2021
Label: Independent
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Metalcore, Melodic Metal, Djent.
FFO: Veil of Maya, Born of Osiris, Vildhjarta, Reflections, Periphery, Spiritbox.
Review By: Tyler Sharkey
Every Hour Kills, a Canadian progressive metal act out of Calgary, aren’t what you’d typically expect from a band in this genre, or any other for that matter, and that’s just how they like it. In fact, the group prefers to refer to themselves as an ever changing musical collective with four key members and a variety of guest vocalist and soloist features giving each song its own distinct sound and style. Since 2013, Every Hour Kills have been experimenting and evolving with every release playing with sounds ranging from melodic metal to synthwave to hard rock and even djent. Now, in 2021, the band has made their biggest change yet, taking a bit of a risk and going in a much heavier direction with their new EP, Vacua.
Opening this record is Palindrome. A chaotic, vicious instrumental that immediately showcases the groups technical prowess and new found brutality. Between the syncopated drum beats, driving chug patterns and blistering leads, it’s sure to be an instant pit opener anywhere it’s played.
Next is the title track, Vacua and honestly, I don’t have too much to say about it. It was released as a single earlier this year and is a fairly straight forward metalcore song offering some classic grooves and bouncy riffs with some cool synth added in. I can see it being a big crowd pleaser at live shows but it’s certainly not the most memorable track on the record in my opinion.
Euclidian is third and unlike Vacua, is a personal favorite of mine. The intro pulls you into an electronically driven trance only to shake you awake with powerful mid-low range screams while the guitars furiously chug away in the background. I can’t help but hear the possible Born of Osiris influence on this one. Short lived singing sections break up the heaviness before finishing strong with a quick and explosive guitar solo, some rapid fire vocals and pummelling drums.
Fourth is Tenebrous. The only track on the EP that really reaches out to the groups older sound and says, “I haven’t forgotten you… completely”, giving us some clean verses and electronics that remind me of bands like Scar Symmetry. Make no mistake though, this song still brings the kick of the new sound transitioning from clean to dirty with ease and even bordering on deathcore at certain points. Old and new fans should appreciate this one.
Lastly, we have the closing track, Intransigent. Easily the heaviest song the band has ever written this monster of a track will have you ripped apart in seconds. It’s dark, dismal, full of technical precision and pretty much the definition of the word, “Thall”. Which makes sense when you factor in that guitarist/programmer, Sacha Laskow, co-wrote it with Calle Thomer of Vildhjarta/Humanity’s Last Breath. It’s a fantastic song and a brilliantly brutal end to Vacua.
Every Hour Kills really seem to have a whole new vision on this EP and I’m envisioning a full length album from them not too long from now. They’re a band that’s looking into the future and challenging themselves and the “core” scene as a whole to try something new. It’s definitely working for them. Vacua is five fiery tracks of modern metal mastery. I highly recommend it.
(5 / 5)
