In certain circles, the metalcore label has the same stigma of emo. Genre fusion has rarely had as many haters. It’s like when thrash came along, you’d think there were a whole bunch of metalheads pissed that everything was too fast—though you know there were a whole bunch of punks accusing thrashers of selling out. Cause, you know, that’s what punks accuse everyone of.
In this case, Freya is a crossover that shouldn’t have crossed. While yeah, they’ve got the whole Hatebreed / Lamb Of God-style of metalcore down like you wouldn’t believe, it’s when they get metal in their Killswitch Engage / Shadows Fall bridges they’re at their weakest. And a band like this, I really would prefer they rock my face off with maximum efficiency. There’s little reason for All Hail The End to have tracks longer than three minutes. Granted, everyone has the right to go a little over from time to time, but most of these tracks plod on longer than I’d like them to and have little reason to exist other than create mosh pits.
Which may be an end in itself.
But what I’m trying to say here is I think Freya would be better at being a hardcore band. I think they’d really kick ass at it. It would definitely cut down on songs like “Labyrinths Of The Ant People,” which is a better song than it sounds, but still. Let’s ‘Get some Freya in ya fuckin’ head / One more time and you’ll be dead’ and get on with it.
In A Word: Overevolved
