Counterparts-The Difference Between Hell and Home

Counterparts have been crafting simply brutal melodic hardcore since 2007. They are very much a part of that excellent New England hardcore scene and their new record The Difference Between Hell and Home is a wondrous testament to the glory that modern hardcore has. With cool melodies and simply unforgiving hardcore riffs this is a very powerful record. Being the groups fourth studio release in four years these guys are nothing if not productive and I'm glad to say that The Difference Between Hell and Home is a fitting sequel to the monster of a record that was 2011's The Current Will Carry Us. 

What really sets some of these songs apart is the way they harness a true aggression and then add some cool melodies on top. While most modern metalcore is very toned back and dismisses its punk origins on The Difference Between Hell and Home Counterparts seem to do exactly the opposite. Songs like Slave show the crushing might of the band, yet they are also not afraid to use some nifty melodies to accent their heavier parts (A good example of this might be Curse). The songs are overall pretty short, yet I think the longer ones allow more time for atmosphere to be built up, I especially like the albums second longest track Compass. I also think that the band should completely do away with the clean vocals (which are thankfully limited on this record), those parts, while not bad are definitely not their strongest moments.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a stellar melodic hardcore record then The Difference Between Hell and Home is the album for you. With soaring melodies and unforgiving riffs fans of what originally made metalcore great will adore this record. As the band fades out more and more of their clean vocals their sound gets progressively stronger and I think their is a clear evolution going on here. It leads me to believe that the sequel to The Difference Between Hell and Home could take the genre to a new level. The band certainly has the potential and the chops. To finish, if you want a record with pumelling riffs and great melodies then this is something you're going to want to check out when it drops July 23rd!

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