Metalcore can be a fickle thing given the sound’s modern reputation that can just as easily be favorable as it can be hated depending completely on who you’re asking. If you ask me, it’s the same as any other style in all of metal: hit or miss with it being truly up to the band to really make it work. Any new name coming into the fold has a lot going against them given the stigma the genre has garnered for itself with more than enough cookie-cutter acts to keep us talking at length for a great deal of time, but there’s still more than enough room to make the passion and heart that’s always lied at the center of the sound to allow any name to rise above the challenge. With their eponymous debut, Riptides puts an interesting first step forward with it being both promising and interesting with its own fair share of shakiness.
A smooth, heartfelt listen with plenty of soul, passion, cathartic outbursts, and diverse intensity lies at the core of any properly done creation of metalcore with there always being plenty to bring it to the table in some capacity, but few are able to combine it all into a single package that doesn’t just keep the listener interested but has them absolutely rooted in place. It hasn’t been since the last offering from Aktaion four years ago that anything in the world of metalcore has come even close to surprising me to a great extent, and even though I will not put Riptides up to such a high standard, I cannot sit here and tell you that I wasn’t very intrigued by the four tracks brought forth in this debut EP. Implementing more than a few cues from the realms of djent and progressive metal to really bring some morphing flavors to the mix that bring some immense life to a brew that Riptides already has a clear knack for with all the essentials for quality material of this vein very present but never once do they feel tired, overplayed, or uninspired. Riptides succeeds where many others have failed even as this concoction still feels a tad clunky in parts that pull the listener out of the experience just a little bit, but it’s never long before Riptides bounces back to recapture and reinvigorate to make for a foundation that the band is more than primed for immense growth as Riptides moves forward honing their sound.
Already, this band is ahead of where many others were start out with their very first creation, and I won’t deny the fact that this creation is one that can easily lead to another that is all but begging for Riptides to be paid attention to by many of its contemporaries for all the right reasons. Metalcore will always have a stigma about it no matter what we do, but so long as bands like Riptides keep coming around then those of us in the know have more than enough to look forward to by all means.
LISTEN to “Riptides” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Riptides on Facebook here.
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