Coheed and Cambria, Armor For Sleep, Alexisonfire – bands that make a label like Equal Vision synonymous with quality. Let’s face it, the label’s got a reputation for being innovative and putting out quality records. Of course every label has blemishes, and for me Seemless are such a mark on an otherwise blemishless roster. It’s not that the band are particularly bad – they do what they do very well to be honest – it’s just the fact that what they do is cliched and, well, a bit Creed-sounding. And that is NOT a good thing.
Seemless are made up of former members of Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall, yet surprisingly sound like neither band – at all. There’s kind of a melodic rock influenec in the underbelly of all the post-hardcore machismo oozing from your speakers, but I can’t escape the bits where they sound like Creed. It’s often just certain guitar parts, or sections of a verse or chorus. But it is there, just lying in wait to pounce on me when I’m least suspecting it. I mean the guitar riffs are ok, possibly a little grunge-lite at times, maybe even Queens of the Stone Age-esque (which, if you like Josh and co is probably a really good thing), but when you put this album up against Alexisonfire‘s self-titled, or the new Armor For Sleep record, there’s just no comparison whatsoever. Sorry – this just isn’t my thing and, as their previous releases go, it shouldn’t be EV’s either…
www.seemlessband.com
Equal Vision
Paul