Escapado - Initiale (2007)

I dont generally like posting things that are this fresh. Instead, I like to post things that have been out for a while already, to be fair. But in some cases I think the opposite is fair.

I have never heard of Escapado before, and they are from Germany, and I really dont know how people would hear about this. I only heard of it through a download from After the Post Rock, where someone said album of the year. Of course I had to check it out, as thats a lofty claim. Well, I'm not gonna say this is album of the year, cuz its not, but its actually an amazing record. and it would be a sin for a band to make such an awesome record and nobody hears it. Maybe I'm a dick and not giving credit where credits due. Maybe people already know of this band. Maybe they dont need my help. But fuck it. I think they are awesome, and I bet I can reach a few extra people they cant.

Oh, the album. Thats right, this is a review of Escapados new album Intiale. Well, I can start off by telling you what it sounds like. German hardcore, tense and screamy, passionate and emotional. Veering a tight line right between post-hardcore and emo/screamo. Twin guitar attack, DC style, screamed, sung and spoken lyrics, all in German. Nice fierce drumming, and the bass is higher up in the mix, which is a nice change from most hardcore which seems to bury the bass under the guitars.

But wait, theres more. "What it sounds like" is a double ended term. This can also refer to bands. Some consider it lame to review a band by comparing it to other bands. Frankly, I think those people are journalist majors and are trying to recreate the wheel by using clever adjectives and writing styles (the same people that took the term "emo" to ridiculous ends). The description I used above could be construed as relative enough to describe a number of bands that have nothing to do with each other. "Who" do they sound like is a valuable tool then. Escapado sounds like, while managing to sound like themselves at the same time, a combination of Envy, Daitro Cease Upon the Capitol and On the Might of Princes, with German vocals instead of Japanese, French or American (ahem! English). If you want to know my opinion (which, if youre reading this, is all that matters for the moment) it is a very useful mixture of sounds. Especially the more melodically sung parts that echo OTMOP. It leavens some of the screamy stuff and makes what is screamy more punctual and thus, more powerful.

Hopefully this band gets heard, and does a tour of the US, and hopefully continues to record music, because this might actually end up on my year end list (though its been quite a good year for music). "Coldblackdeathbloodmurderhatemachine" is my favorite song. Its got a great singy part in the beginning that turns into a CUTC reminiscent spacy part with zapping guitars, then dips into a very Daitro-ish breakdown with spoken lyrics and then swerves right into a moshy part with an aweome muted guitar chug right in the middle. Just one palm mute, but its great. The whole album is great though... you wont be let down. I promise.