Headbore – The Grey (Truth Inc. Records)
Wednesday, 15th June 2016
Sometimes you just want something that will get you moving around and up the intensity level of the room. Doesn’t have to be the most brutal album, but can’t be lacking in groove. For these type of moments, you turn to a band like Headbore. Their sophomore effort, The Grey, takes elements of modern groove, melodic death and thrash, and gives you an enjoyable listen – start to finish.
There’s a modern finish on what Headbore does that keeps The Grey covering a wide potential appeal. One obvious piece is an emphasis on groove. Pick a track and you can find some gnarly grooves in which to start exercising those neck muscles. It’s done well – even though in every track, they do a good job of varying tempos as to make sure the groove has it’s needed impact. There’s thrashy moments (the title track), melodic touches (“False”), and some movements into more melodeath territory (“Pending Disaster”) as you make your way through. With the modern approach, one pleasant aspect is that the band avoids going into clean vocal areas (mostly). It seems tempting at points, but the heavier approach works nicely and goes around clichéd waters.
The one downfall to all of this one is the most obvious. It’s all handled quite well, with plenty of energy moving through the tracks but it never really grabs onto its own identity. The grooves are worth their weight though. It’s just a question of what you are looking to get out of it (see opening paragraph).
