Review by Billy Geary

The problem with Ohio metalcore group Like Moths to Flame’s latest effort When We Don’t Exist is that it brings literally nothing new to a genre already more stale than that piece of cake that’s been sitting on the bench for the last couple of weeks. The passion and energy is bleedingly obvious in the music, but so is fact that the bands song writing is in desperate need of an overhaul.

When We Don’t Exist seemingly takes every single metalcore stereotype possible and rolls it into one big wall of sound. Excessive amount of breakdowns? Check. Angry, tough guy vocals/lyrics? Check. Awkward clean vocals in the chorus? Check. We’ve literally heard it all before. You could pick any one of the album’s 11 tracks and find the same things. Take ‘GNF’ for example, featuring the inspired lyrics of ‘I don’t give a fuck about the way you’re feeling’ before the guitars take the listener into another open string chug fest.

Opener ‘The Worst In Me’ is easily the album’s best song, if only because the band have dared to be a little different with it. A moody lead up falls away into some of the more interesting guitar patterns on the album, held up by some equally impressive drumming. It also features the best vocals on the album, being at their most impassioned and forceful. Similarly, ‘No Hope’ features some great musicianship (particularly in the drumming), but is let down significantly by the band’s refusal to deviate from the same formula. The rest of the album follows the exact same pattern, with a couple of fleetingly interesting sections swallowed up by a generic song formula and way, way too many breakdowns.

However, there are a couple of redeeming qualities on When We Don’t Exist. Specifically, the drumming throughout the record is of very high quality and there are flashes of impressive guitars. The unfortunate thing about the album though, is these little indications of something more are gone just as quickly as they appear, falling away into the endless chugs. Yes, it is clear that they guys in Like Moths to Flame have worked their arses off on the record. There’s no denying the huge amounts of passion and intensity behind the music, it’s just let down by being painfully generic.

The almost heartbreaking thing about bands such as Like Moths to Flame is that they all have the technical ability to play interesting and engaging music, but instead are churning out album after album with little to no variation. There is nothing memorable to be found on When We Don’t Exist, simply because we’ve heard everything on the record a thousand times before. As with a lot of the bands playing similar music, Like Moths to Flame have some potential, all that’s needed is a musical direction that sets them apart from the crowd and their own identity.

Review by Billy Geary