Undying
At History's End (2003)
Brian Shultz
Playing fiery albeit repetitive bursts of metalcore in the vein of The Agony Scene, Undying's third effort has the band clawing for new ideas and coming up short. Suffering from "All Songs Sound the Same Syndrome" leads to rehashed riffs and reliance on cheesy â80s metal licks preceding lackadaisical breakdowns in At History's End.
Certainly the band deserves some due credit for keeping all copycat techniques in at just under half an hour, surely realizing how absolutely mundane this would get if passing the forty minute mark. Still, the failure to mix things up and insert moments of creativity that would make my ears perk up has the album better placed as a coffee table decorative piece than CD changer inhabitancy.
The only spot Undying changes things up is the interlude "Arrangement For Invisible Voices," which is still a prototypical strings and piano dealie that would cause more eye-rolling than sobbing the overdramatic purpose it tries serving.
If you enjoy CDs seemingly programmed as to be played stuck on repeat,At History's End should have you occupied for days.
MP3