New Music Monday

New Music Monday: Before I Go

It's always great to support your local bands, so this week I'm gonna be talking about a band from near me, Before I Go. These guys are a progressive metalcore band from Essex in the UK, and I have to say they're one of the best local bands here going. Their sound makes good use of both heavy riffs and intricate lead sections without the overuse of breakdowns that you hear in a lot of core bands these days. Another thing I like is how raw the vocals sound; a lot of the time vocals tend to get overproduced, but with these guys you get dirty, ugly sounding screams, and I love it.

Their debut EP, I Can Feel You In My Skin, only came out on the 1st of February, and after a short intro gets off to a great start in Bahamut. Immediately we hear the intense shredding guitars, which find a perfect balance between melody and heavyness, with one section in the middle where there's just pure, crushing riffs and growled vocals. After an interlude, which to be honest wasn't really needed after only one song, we get the even heavier Get The Fuck Up, starting off slow before exploding with the heaviest riff of the EP. This is then followed by one of the most melodic guitar parts, which makes a great contrast before another tasty riffy bit. Simple Amphibian is a similar kind of feel to the last song, but with a bit less melody and more focus on the prog side of their sound. The intro of the next song, freedom, reminded me a lot of Dispossesion by Northlane, with a bass riff starting the song off. After that the song was one of the more melodic, nicer ones in the EP, leading up to the next song, Shots Fired, which I guarantee will make you punch the person nearest you. After a short build up and a pause with some distant shouts, you're hit with an amazing riff, with more intense heavyness all the way through, and an amazing ending with the vocalist sounding as raw and crazy as ever.

FFO: Northlane, After The Burial