Tuesday 26 December 2017

LEVELESS

BandLEVELESS
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Metallic Hardcore / Metalcore / Screamo / Skramz
Related artistsWhenskiesaregrey.
CountryBaltimore, Maryland U.S.A.
Years Active2016-2017
Song: "No Path"
Album: "Remind - Replace - Expire - Erase"
Year: 2017
For fans ofCrowning, The Chariot, This Ship Will Sink, In First Person, Dowager, Youth Funeral, Carrion SpringУлыбайся Ветру, Takaru, Minerva Superduty, Lentic Waters, Colored Moth, Knut, Carved Up, Norma Jean, Weak Teeth, Pianos Become The Teeth, Voyage In Coma, Breather Resist, Poison The Well, Hopesfall, Capacities and Loma Prieta aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Label(s): Self Released
This post's artist is from the December 2017 Mix. This is track #5.
You can download: the December 2017 Mix#12 right here or get the new January 2018 Mix#1 here.

Baltimore's LEVELESS rose from the ashes of Whenskiesaregrey. Existing ever so briefly from 2016 until their final show on June 30th, 2017, they released but a single LP titled 'Remind - Replace - Expire - Erase' and it was sensational. The pulverizing, dark-as-fuck, metallic hardcore would make Tom Schlatter of This Ship Will Sink, In First Person, Capacities and What Of Us give two vocal thumbs up, methinks, as the insanely intense vocals and vicious instrumentals conjure up many of the sounds embedded within his aforementioned projects. But there is more to the band and full length than that.

First off, apparently LEVELESS had support from Broken World Media, which then pulled the rug from under their feet right before going to press. They also shot a music video for track 10's "Discontent" that got shared around the internet in a frenzy. With an upcoming tour on the horizon and no new record, LEVELESS disbanded.

Let's quickly go over the album, though. Opener "No Path" definitely has a Loma Prieta feel, but it hits much harder and in a metalcore kind of way, without sounding overtly metalcore. As it continues to rip into the listener, the transition to deep screams and punishing drums at 45 seconds and its subsequent rise and climax is nothing short of jaw-dropping. "Youth Ruin" explodes with heavily distorted bass riffs and dual vocals, "Doorway Silhouette" boasts some sweet guitarin', with a sound much akin to Chicago's Crowning or Skeletal Lightning's Youth Funeral. There are a few tracks with clean vocals that I didn't expect after hearing nothing of the sort during the first four songs, but with "Endless Exit" they open alongside the somber, eerie and ambient instrumentals before reverting to screams and heaviness from three minutes onward. "Wholly Gone" is a much slower number but with distant screaming over the soft, lush melodies, and "Discontent" explodes at first, but offers up well-executed, melodic singing in its second half, while "Last Light", "Prey to Flames" and "Lost Ghost" are probably the darkest and heaviest songs here.

It's a shame the band lasted for such a short period, especially after such a promising beginning. But as can be the case, perhaps the next reincarnation will be even better.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2017 - Remind - Replace - Expire - Erase LP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2017) LEVELESS - "Discontent" (from 'Remind - Replace - Expire - Erase') official music video

(2017) LEVELESS - "No Path" (from 'Remind - Replace - Expire - Erase')

(2017) LEVELESS - "No Ghost" (from 'Remind - Replace - Expire - Erase')

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LEVELESS additional links

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