Archetypes / Ten Thousand Leagues

Split [12-inch] (2011)

Brian Shultz

Archetypes and Ten Thousand Leagues team up for a split full-length of the alternately heavy and screamy.

On the front side is Archetypes–their side actually being their Steps EP, just on a fresh format here–and their brand of pulverizing metalcore/metallic hardcore perhaps akin to Kiss It Goodbye or Jesuit, with occasional parts that remind of the more open-ended, mid-tempo/complex rage of acts like Breather Resist or Former Thieves. "Heroin" is a murky, smoky opener that leads into "You and Your Words", which has both anthemic and moshier tendencies, and a more thoughtful closing. "Lorelle" has plenty of rapid, bending tempo changes, while "Travels" plows and plods with the band's signature thickness and prowl. Really solid stuff.

Ten Thousand Leagues–their side actually being their demo–go more the '90s screamo route, playing a slightly spazzy brand that sounds sometimes controlled, otherwise erratic. It's a bit like Europe's interpretation of American screamo over the last decade. The vocals are buried beneath a sloppy collision of restrained chaos in much of "Pieces of Mosaic", though "Black Scripture" opens with much more arresting guitar tones in the form of some rolling, building octaves and tense, emotive yelps with just the right touch of scratchiness. Most of the way through the latter, the structure gives out and it closes in more of a free-form meltdown. The drums on the band's shortest cut, "Forfeit This Routine", remind me momentarily of Touché Amoré's "Nine".

It's cool to see some variety even when both bands on this split could ostensibly be called hardcore. Both are dense and subtly complex, and it takes a few listens to comprehend what they're doing, but it's worth the investment.

DOWNLOAD/STREAM
Archetypes' side
Ten Thousand Leagues' side