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░ ██ ██ Artist: Night Verses ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Lift Your Existence █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2013 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2013-09-11 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Rock / Post-HC / Progressive ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Southworld ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Rising from the ashes of post-hardcore band The █
█ Sleeping, vocalist Doug Robinson wasted little █
█ time lamenting his old project before forming █
█ Night Verses. Leaving a successful project to █
█ initiate a new one is a risk which sometimes sees █
█ artists fall off the musical map, but when such █
█ boldness is channelled correctly and substantiated █
█ with the skill to execute it then success stories █
█ are born - and it hasn't taken Robinson and Night █
█ Verses long to establish themselves as one such █
█ story. After testing the waters in 2012 with debut █
█ EP Out Of The Sky, the reaction was such that a █
█ full length album has surfaced little more than a █
█ year later. Lift Your Existence sees all the seeds █
█ which were sewn on Out Of The Sky nurtured and in █
█ full bloom, and the finest qualities of their █
█ debut have been exorbitantly expanded on. █
█ █
█ Not only do Night Verses have a lot to say, but █
█ they have a bucket load of technicality and talent █
█ to say it with. Averaging over 4 minutes per song, █
█ Lift Your Existence screams, riffs and pounds it █
█ way through fifteen expansive tracks, leaving █
█ ample room for Robinson and co to flaunt their █
█ technical prowess and song-writing chops. You █
█ barely need to scratch the surface to taste the █
█ full flavour of the album in one song, opening █
█ track ôIntroducing: The Rot Under The Sun.ö The █
█ style and impetus of the album are made perfectly █
█ clear from the outset û colossal riffs, breakneck █
█ drumbeats and dynamic heavy vocals greet you with █
█ open arms and encourage you to outstay your █
█ welcome, and baring few exceptions theyÆre █
█ indicative of the content which follows. █
█ Reminiscent of what The Fall of Troy might sound █
█ like fronted by DeftonesÆ Chino Moreno, Lift Your █
█ Existence always manages to feel both strangely █
█ familiar and remarkably fresh û all whilst showing █
█ a wealth of ambition. █
█ █
█ Of course, with so many songs consisting of █
█ lengthy durations the ability to stay varied and █
█ interesting throughout is a must, and the █
█ duplication of riffs and the banal use of hooks is █
█ a dangerously tempting escape route which is well █
█ avoided here. The acapella screams on the █
█ accurately titled ôRage,ö the delicate xylophone █
█ which opens ôCelestial Fireö and the haunting, █
█ distant vocals on album highlight ôCathexisö all █
█ hint at the variety which lies within, and these █
█ moments prove to be the most memorable and █
█ effectual, perhaps even more so than the anthemic █
█ choruses which underpin almost every song. The █
█ fact that the songs hinge on so much more than █
█ catchy choruses lends high praise to the bandÆs █
█ rhythm section, and the acute fills and licks █
█ which pepper the brash meat of the songs █
█ tantalisingly elevate them to new levels, with █
█ every niche of silence snugly filled with █
█ inspiration. █
█ █
█ If you like your post-hardcore big, bold and █
█ engrossing, then Lift Your Existence effortlessly █
█ ticks the boxes. In a time when post-hardcore has █
█ been accused of going stale, archetypal choruses █
█ are avoided, breakdowns are swerved and painfully █
█ formulaic song structures are shunned. Instead, █
█ delicate touches, intricate riffs and one █
█ frighteningly efficient drummer all combine to █
█ prove Doug Robinson and the clichΘs of the world █
█ right - sometimes the grass truly is greener. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Introducing: The Rot Under the Sun 5:33 ░
░ 2. Rage 4:11 ░
░ 3. Time Erases Time (Strung Out) 3:30 ░
░ 4. Celestial Fires 4:34 ░
░ 5. Antidepressants 4:44 ░
░ 6. Parasomnia 4:23 ░
░ 7. Pull Back Your Teeth 3:35 ░
░ 8. Whatever Makes You Hate Me 4:40 ░
░ 9. Blind Lighthouse 5:39 ░
░ 10. Yours 4:20 ░
░ 11. Cathexis 4:41 ░
░ 12. Elucidation 4:29 ░
░ 13. Altimeter 4:14 ░
░ 14. I Don't Want My Loved Ones to Die 5:00 ░
░ 15. Phoenix: I. Rising II. Falling 10:12 ░
░ 73:45 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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