Counterparts - Nothing Left To Love (Album Review)
Counterparts - Nothing Left To Love
Released: November 1st, 2019
Lineup
Brendan Murphy - Vocals
Alex Re - Guitar
Blake Hardman - Guitar
Tyler Williams - Bass
Kyle Brownlee - Drums
Online
Canadian hardcore five-piece, Counterparts are back with their latest studio album. Having just toured Australia with Northlane (our Brisbane coverage here) and blowing the minds of old and new fans in the process has only increased the anticipation for this long-awaited release.
The album begins with the incredibly atmospheric introductory song 'Love Me'. Repeating the words "will you love me when their's nothing left to love" kicks things off with the feelings of hopelessness and desperation that this band is well known and loved for. 'Wings of Nightmares' begins with a heavy and fast-paced drum presence as well as immensely technical guitar riffs. The song offers a lot of consistency, perhaps too much as the tone of the song doesn't change much at all until the breakdown at the end.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoWDxUVIHPU&w=640&h=360]
'Paradise and Plague' begins with an enticing guitar riff which is quickly followed by Brendan Murphy's raw vocals. Lyrically this song holds a lot of grief with lyrics such as "There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you" and "forgive me for leaving too soon". This piece is also the first on the album where we get to hear clean vocals, overlapped by Brendan's unclean vocals throughout the chorus, which is a nice touch. 'The Hands That Used To Hold Me' Is a fast-paced piece which offers quite a lot, intricate guitar riffs, and drumming which manages to flow through the song beautifully, creating a great listening experience. Carrying through with the darker styled theme these guys seem to follow with lyrics such as "suffocate me in my sleep", this track speaks from the dark heart of vocalist Brendan Murphy.
'Separate Wounds' begins with a slow-paced guitar riff before exploding into a high tempo burst of instrumentals. With complex instrumentals weaving together to create what is an impressive piece of music. Vocalist Brendan Murphy really shines through on this one. The breakdown and it's lead up are astonishingly well put together and flows terrifically. This song is definitely a highlight of the album. 'Your Own Knife' begins with an alluring guitar riff, followed by fast-paced drumming which seems to be the real highlight of this piece. With the lyrics "I should have let you die" pre breakdown only reenforces, the dark nature of the meanings behind the songs.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmmE6rXDNrI&w=640&h=360]
'Cherished' is a melodic piece with a lot of focus on the guitar riffs, with a catchy chorus that will make bopping your head near impossible to resist. The songs pace and structure changes towards the end for the build-up for a well put together breakdown, which is followed by a soft outro. 'Imprints' is arguably the albums fastest intro with a strong drum presence at the core of it all. With a soft and slow break in the middle where Brendan Murphy screams "I will incinerate myself" before returning to the melodic guitar riffs to finish off the track. 'Ocean of Another' and 'Nothing Left To Love' finish off the album on the same note it started on, which is, explosive hardcore instrumentals and lyrics which are dripping with heartbreak and misery, which makes these two tracks fitting to finish off the album.
Counterparts have played it safe and have stuck to the same writing process that their fans love, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. That same sound can go stale at times, but they have created an album which offers a lot in terms of the structure of each song and lyrical content.
Counterparts - Nothing Left To Love tracklisting
- Love Me
- Wings of Nightmares
- Paradise and Plague
- The Hands That Used To Hold Me
- Separate Wounds
- Your Own Knife
- Cherished
- Imprints
- Ocean of Another
- Nothing Left To Love
Rating: 8/10
Nothing Left To Love is out Friday, November 1st via Pure Noise Records. Pre-Order here
Review by Adam Rice @adamrice1994
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=827CZ4Qs0as&w=853&h=480]
