Defined By Struggle,
Nodes Of Ranvier
There are a couple of really, really good songs on this album. 'Confront', for example, is an absolute beast of a song; so heavy and frenetic than even someone who particularly won over by hardcore bands can appreciate how good it is. Then there's 'Endless Faith' which features some spine-shatteringly heavy riffs and a passionate vocal ready to spit blood in the name of art. But for all the good moments, Nodes Of ranvier are let done by some real filler - and I mean generic riffs and obvious breakdowns we've heard millions of times before.
Victory's roster is becoming ever more diverse and in the same week I've received this and the poptastic dulcet tones of June. I'd compare Nodes to the likes of Darkest Hour, especially in terms of the metal guitars and their squally sounds. Over the course of 11 tracks 'Defined By Struggle' does seem to blend together and the songs start to sound the same, which is a shame because when the band are at their best, they're really, really good. All to often, however, the band just sound like they're going through the motions. 'Valjean', for example, just sounds like metalcore by numbers.
Nodes of Ranvier are excellent in short doses and not bad in larger ones. If you like your hardcore to be tinged with metal but still quite heavy, this Victory crew are well worth checking out.
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