A LIFE ONCE LOST – Ecstatic Trance
Season Of Mist – Out Now
Metalcore has always been my least preferred genre and chances are that this will continue to be the case as most bands of this style tend to be fairly generic and predictable in their approach to song writing. When I decided to review “Ecstatic Trance”, the sixth studio album of the Philadelphia-based quartet A Life Once Lost, I did so in the expectation of this becoming the latest addition to my ‘never to listen to ever again’ list of albums so I was quite surprised to find some of the eleven compositions on offer being instead both musically daring and simply enjoyable to listen to. How is this possible?
The main reason why “Ecstatic Trance” stands out from most of the latest Metalcore releases out there is because it does not follow any of the strict and, in my humble opinion, very limiting rules of the genre.
Yes, riffs are low chorded, heavy and repetitive in nature, the vocals are screamo and do tend to dominate, but what this band does best is that it adorns its composition with good quality lead guitar themes whose aim is to add atmosphere instead of impressing with speed and technical dexterity. Most of the compositions end up sounding fairly enjoyable to listen to even though structurally they are not that far apart from each other.
I felt that something was quite unusual about this album the moment I was introduced to the spacey keyboard theme of “Something Awful” and by the time the Enslaved-sounding leads of “Gnawing Lisp” were performed I was definitely interested.
Sadly, the lead melodies used in the Soulfly-sounding opus “Madness Is God” were really not fitting to this groovy riffed beast and their attempt to copy Meshuggah in “Miracle Worker” resulted in the album losing some important momentum. That is when guitarist Doug Sabolick decided to step in and provide both “Empty Form” and “The Blues” with some truly inspiring leads bringing a much needed balance to the proceedings.
The last third of the album may consist of less flamboyant compositions but both “People Stare” and “I Sit Ill” contain some pretty decent tunes and in “Asteroid” we have a good cover that I am sure that members of Killing Joke would have no problem approving of.
If you look straight at my rating and ignore the narrative of this review, you may feel that I am not that fond of “Ecstatic Trance” but that is hardly the case here. If I, as someone resistant to Metalcore by nature, have found so many positive things to say about this album then I am sure that other writers who are more sympathetic towards the genre will be far more generous with their ratings.
What the guys in A Life Once Lost have proven with their sixth studio album is that Metalcore doesn’t have to be stale and predictable and I cannot stress enough how important I feel that is. Though not converted to the genre, I have already marked them as a band to watch and I wish them all the luck in the world. Nice one guys.
John Stefanis
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Next session: Sunday 1 December
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections