The Bearer are a hardcore band from the US and this is their second release.
The Bearer play hardcore that’s influenced by metal – so far, so generic, right? Wrong. On paper this description may be accurate, but it doesn’t do The Bearer’s sound justice.
Think of some of the more atypical hardcore bands out there – Botch, Norma Jean, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, etc. – and then add in some metal aspects from a whole host of different places, all subsumed into their metallic hardcore noise. Fiction contains hints of styles as diverse as modern metal, melodic metal, death metal and even progressive/post-metal.
Let this not further deceive you, however – this list of sub-genres are merely what can be heard here and there in the band’s sound. These tracks are more consistent than my rambling list would imply. The songs are heavy hardcore ragers with the aforementioned influences drip-fed into them rather than taken wholesale. Plus the fact that the hardcore side of the band is much more significant than the metal one.
The result is songs that conform to their own internal dialogue of what hardcore should sound like. The band allow themselves the freedom to explore various avenues and ideas in their own nuanced way, which ends up in just over 15 minutes of quality modern heavy music, with both instant appeal and a longer lasting one.
The singer has a throaty hardcore roar. It’s ably performed and does its job well. No issues in the vocal department.
I really liked this. Quality metallic hardcore that doesn’t come across as some form of boring, generic metalcore is surprisingly hard to come by, but Fiction is a great example of it. The band take their influences and roll with them, producing something with their own personality stamped on it.
Style, depth and substance. Very nice indeed.
Wonderbox Metal 