Japanese metalcore troupe Dexcore have been around for nearly a decade at this point, blending together some of the heavier parts of the deathcore scene with some more melodic and almost pop sounding elements to bring in a more individual approach that spans quite a few extremes. That’s not to mention their elements of visual kei in their fashion presence, nor the fact that they utilize English lyrics. In going over the checklist here, it’s challenging to find a reason why the act hasn’t taken off more outside of Japan, like similar acts like Crystal Lake or Crossfaith have.
We Were Here is the group’s second full-length album, and it’s a gargantuan 16-track offering. It includes a number of previously released singles, as well as plenty of new content, something that’s both a blessing and a curse as this album pushes past the one-hour mark. While the sheer content level is massive, unfortunately it feels like another case of ‘a really great 30-40 minute album trapped inside an hour-long listen.’ Truth be told, if you look at any of the tracks within We Were Here, it’s quite well done for the style. “Others” blends a wealth of almost melodeath-inspired guitar riffs with compelling urgency and switches gears into a catchy clean vocal chorus. Stomping riffs and urgent tempos make the song pop even brighter, as does a melodic closing to it. Previous single “Paramnesia” ushers punishing deathcore brutality in its aggressive tone and riffing, and a chest-rattling breakdown brings it further, countered by some effective clean vocals in the chorus to make the contrast pop.
The problem lies in attempting to listen to the entire album in one go. The time frame is just too overbearing. While you can highlight great things in each track, the band’s arsenal of tactics starts to repeat itself, so that by the time you reach tracks like “Skindeep” and “Place Where We Belong,” they lack some of the impact and wow factor that you feel in earlier tracks. Some jettisoning of the weaker cuts, such as the more melodic but momentum-squandering “Still Alive” would ultimately make We Were Here a much stronger album as a whole.
Your enjoyment level of We Were Here ultimately will settle upon what type of listener you are. If you just check out singles and playlists, Dexcore’s latest is bound to thrill and impress you with their ability to incorporate brutality and melody into their version of metalcore. But as an album ‘start to back’ listener, it’s simply too much to handle in one dose. By rights, Dexcore should be expanding their name outside of the East given their sound, and deserve any boost in listeners, without question. But maybe trim a bit of the fat off the next full-length effort.