Cedarville, Ohio is the birthplace of Wolves At The Gate. The five piece post-hardcore band have been known to balance the beauty of melody with the barbaric bite of riffs so heavy they make gravity seems weak. ‘Eclipse’ is their fourth full length outing and is a thoughtful slice of melodic Metalcore. I must confess, I had never heard any of their catalogue before ‘Eclipse’, but was pleasantly surprised by quality of musicianship, the strength of the songs and the production.
Vocalist/guitarist Stephen Cobucci says of the album: “We named the record ‘Eclipse’ because of how well it encapsulated the relationship the light and the dark can have. An eclipse tells you that it’s dark,but it takes truth and faith to know that the sun is still shining. All of this revolves around my walk of faith in believing the truths of the gospel message, seeking to help others find hope and peace in the love of God, as well as how to come to grips with various social/political/personal issues.“
Alongside Cobucci is Ben Summers(bass), Abishai Collingsworth(drums), Nick Detty(vocals), and the band’s newest member Joey Alarcon(who co-produced with Cobucci).
The album ‘Eclipse’ follows the development path of other metalcore bands, with more clean singing and a studious dedication to melody. This is none better demonstrated than by final song “Blessings & Curses.” This pushes toward pop music, but with more power.
The music washes over you in waves of adrenaline and (weirdly) stillness. It pushes you into a widescreen version of reality, where everything is epic but slowed down. The sound makes you reflect and there is a sombre mood to the art. Peaceful waters are moved to areas of sonic perfection, only to be brought back to life by banging songs such as my favorite, “Counterfeit” – there is nothing counterfeit about this band! They know how to bring emotion to the boil and let it simmer on a flame of pure metal.
Epic songs? There are more than a few on this banger. The title track demonstrates this perfectly. Cobucci sings like some angel and the tune is filled out with keyboards and harmonies.
Kicking songs? “Evil Are The Kings” is a great stomper, with a more old-school metalcore vibe and nice use of growling vocals.
The whole record brims with intent to be tuneful, thoughtful and emotional whilst retaining some brutal riffing. Check it out.
