Counterparts - A Eulogy For Those Still Here
Canadian metalcore / hardcore punk band Counterparts is a really interesting band, because I’ve got some mixed feelings. That’s not the first time I’ve said that about a band or artist, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the new Counterparts record, A Eulogy For Those Still Here. I really enjoyed their last LP, 2019′s Nothing Left To Love, but you could tell that the band was kind of running out of steam. Not that their lyrics, vocals, or anything like that was getting stale, but their sound was just becoming rather repetitive and generic. To be fair, Counterparts has always been super generic, but they’re one of those bands that has been able to be a cut above the rest, thanks due in part to their sound being executed incredibly tightly and vocalist Brendan Murphy being one of the best lyricists and vocalists in the scene. Hell, they’re one of the major players of the metalcore revival of the last few years, especially with that record having more of an early 00s metalcore feel than their previous material (which fell more on the melodic hardcore spectrum, but they had that metalcore crossover sound), but I won’t pretend they’re anything unique. They don’t add anything unique to the genre, other than their vocals and lyrics.
I actually listened to Nothing Left To Love a few weeks ago before Eulogy came out, and I don’t know if it’s aged extremely well. Not because the lyrics are bad, or out of touch, but I remember loving it when it came out towards the end of 2019, but it doesn’t do much for me now. It’s got some good breakdowns, and the lyrics are extremely powerful and poignant, made even more so with Murphy’s vocal performance, but it’s such a generic album. That’s what I was worried about with Eulogy, and why I have mixed feelings on this band, because as much as I love their vocalist and their lyrics, their sound is just really tired and bland at this point. It’s good, make no mistake, but after 15 years, they haven’t done much differently. Their sound is executed rather well, and it’s competent, but they just don’t do as much for me now as they did a few years ago. There are a lot of better bands in the metalcore sphere that are doing unique things, especially bands that take that early 00s sound and make something more unique with it, so I wasn’t sure what Eulogy was going to do.
Unfortunately, not very much, because I don’t really care for this album. Here’s the thing, folks -- it’s good, and if you love this band, you’ll love this album, but because it’s more of the same. The cover art is really cool, and the lyrics are very good, but it sounds like outtakes and B-sides from the last album. Maybe it is a companion piece, which is cool if it is, but it just sounds like what they’ve been doing. There’s nothing wrong with that, as I’ve talked about bands having an “X-factor” in another review, and sometimes that factor can just be the band performing an established sound very well, but when it doesn’t work all the way for me, I’m just not invested. It could also be due in part to the last couple of weeks being very huge in terms of new releases, namely the new Slipknot and Lamb Of God albums dropped (both of which I really enjoy), and I just haven’t listened to the album much, but this album just didn’t leave much of an impression with me. I might listen to it more, and maybe it’ll grow on me, but I’ve listened to it a few times, and while I like it, I don’t really love it. It’s a good metalcore record, but they don’t have anything that makes me want to keep coming back to it, especially when better metalcore albums have come out this year (some of which are also rather generic, just more interesting). If you’re curious, or you really enjoy this band, I’d still recommend it, but I just didn’t get much of out of this album, which is a shame, because this band is really good, I just wish they’d step out of their comfort zone a bit.
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