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)

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

IZZY REIGN Spooky Scary Skeletons (FiXT)
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THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

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