Darkened, atmospheric hardcore isn’t something that a lot of bands revel in. Grieved’s debut EP, Samaritans, showed a band that had some potential to straddle the hardcore and metal lines (in a way that didn’t result in more cheesy metalcore) and here comes the band’s self-titled full-length to see what they can do when doubling the time element.
Grieved is an album that is more of a slow burn than a scorcher. The band spends almost all of the album churning away at mid-tempo riffs. Brooding atmosphere is in high demand as you move through the album, offering subtle melodies that seemingly provide a soundtrack for walking down a dark alley at midnight. There’s nothing fantastical about the music, this is street-level brutality, and the riffs are often inclined to push the listener further into that dark path. Album standout “Losing Touch” combines this lumbering metallic approach to hardcore with some uptempo d-beat energy as the song progresses. Elsewhere, “Synesthesia” provides the album’s only real moment of respite with a quiet melody that bleeds into the more atmospheric and gradual build of “Asunder.” Closer “Reverie” continues this subtly more melodic trend, and shows off one of the album’s strengths – the way that Grieved can combine some lasting melodies and almost hooky riffs into something that is still full of vitriol.
Grieved builds fully upon the promise of last year’s Samaritans and sets the band up as one to watch on the hardcore front. The abrasion of hardcore with the ominous metallic vibes leave the band in a space that few have cared enough to fully explore and dive into its nuances. Perhaps Grieved can be the ones to show us the way.