A Day and A Thousand Years,
Walls of JerichoWalls of Jericho originally released A Day and a Thousand Years as a 7 inch in 1999: their first ever release. This is a re-release of the CD version which had additional bonus tracks on. First thing to say is that they are far more a metal band than a hardcore band. The term ‘hardcore’ could be applied to them by virtue of the fact that they have breakdowns and some fast riffs, but that’s about the extent of it. This is worth mentioning because so often people will lump them in under what is becoming a blanket genre term, but if you're expecting a hardcore band, in the familiar sense of the word at least, that is not what you will get.
In case you weren’t aware the outfit’s major point of interest is that they have a female vocalist in the shape of Candace Kucsulain. This girl can definitely scream and bellow as well as the next hardcore front-person, but what she seems to be lacking in is range. Her demonic cries sound monotonous, and while this can often be an effective element in heavy music, the fact that she rarely displays any real variation (aside from the odd melodramatic spoken line) leaves much to be desired.
To their merit, Walls of Jericho attempt to inject some atmosphere into proceedings by giving their sound a foreboding, death metal kind of feel. Candace’s vocals fit into this equation relatively well. However, the obvious progressions the band utilise which basically seem to be a quest to get from one beat-down to another make the whole affair seem theatrical. They come across as a band that take themselves seriously, but this is more b-movie than blood-curdling.
This lot are noted for their live performances, and people obviously get a kick out of what they do. Those people may read this review and see the negative points mentioned in a far more positive light. But unless they were to advance themselves beyond this starting point, A Day and a Thousand Years signalled the beginning of yet another generic metalcore band’s fight to define themselves from the deluge.
www.allhailthedead.com
Genet Records
Alex
