Time to turn heavy! For fans of the new generation of pissed off
hardcore... it's time to watch out. There's a new, furious band all out
of XXX's and ready to crack your brain. They're Sworn In and they've
recently made a name for themselves. The resulting cable has united
tech-heads, hardcore kids, and even mathcore fans through the heavy
aural delights. A lot of legitimate Sworn In interest grew over the last
few months.
They dropped their debut “The Death Card” on August 20th through Razor & Tie
Records and the reason for the interest is all in the sound. Behold the
angry musical weapon Sworn In has built. A weapon which is gonna throw a
spiteful display of anger and insanity in your face, delivered without
any hesitation. It's also delivered with intelligence as they break down
barriers and hardcore boundaries.
And it turns out you can get a taste of the madness free of charge! Sworn In is offering their track "A Song For The Nameless" for free download! Go ahead and grab it here while you still can.
Time to turn heavy! For fans of the new generation of pissed off hardcore... it's time to watch out. There's a new, furious band all out of XXX's and ready to crack your brain. They're Sworn In and they've recently made a name for themselves. The resulting cable has united tech-heads, hardcore kids, and even mathcore fans through the heavy aural delights. A lot of legitimate Sworn In interest grew over the last few months. The surge piqued my attention, so I decided to give a listen to their debut album.
“The Death Card” just dropped on August 20th through Razor & Tie Records and the reason for the interest is all in the sound. Behold the angry musical weapon Sworn In has built. A weapon which is gonna throw a spiteful display of anger and insanity in your face, delivered without any hesitation. It's also delivered with intelligence as they break down barriers and hardcore boundaries.
The opening track “XIII” creates such an ill ambiance. The likes of which hasn't been heard in years, dragging the listeners down within its own insanity. Insanity which reveals itself in all of it's potential with the first full song of the album “Hypocrisy”. Those acute guitar sounds will drill their way through your skull while the crazy vocals yell into your ears with authentic and vicious anger. Such heartfelt and real vocals are hard to find nowadays. It's the sound of a voice that doesn't give a shit about filling in for the “scene” or straying from that path and being original. It's simply the voice of somebody who felt what he's belting out because his heart and mind crossed that line bringing blind hate, yet lucid and aware of the target: someone, something, but often himself.
Some of the lyrics can better explain it: “Fuck you! You meaningless me! You're everything you told me never to be!” or “We are all alone at heart, and we are meant to be this way from the start”.
Tracks like “Mindless” and “Dead Soul” feature a kinda nu-metal riff (detect a Korn influence in the first one?) and fast vocals which may remind you of the insanity found in Slipknot's very first works. Heaviness, bass drops, and vocal intensity give way to a couple of very appreciable melodic apertures. This is especially found in “Mindless”, but also “A Song For The Nameless” and “Three Cheers”. Their inclusion is definitely wise and well placed.
A better representation of this band can be found in the heavy single “Snake Eyes”. It displays all that insanity, groovy hardcore attacks, and an intelligent mathcore effort. Other great examples also come to mind. “Deadpan” is probably the heaviest episode on the whole album and the closing track “Return (Heartless)” will show you why djentlemen thought this hardcore band was so intresting.
“The Death Card” is an album you need to check out. Maybe not for its originality, but definitely because Sworn In brought this music back to that apex of authentic anger, hate and illness in a way which hasn't been reached for quite a long time.
In just two short years, Sworn In has achieved the beginning of their dreams. The Illinois based band was signed to Razor & Tie last week and announced they would be releasing their highly anticipated debut album "The Death Card" soon. Noted as a Buffalo, NY favorite, they've been here three times in the past year, my local scene is excited for what the future brings for Sworn In.
Along with their announcement, Sworn In released the track "A Song For The Nameless" which was remastered from this past year's demos. Vocalist Tyler Dennen screams with conviction and it is a huge step up from the already impressive demo. One thing's for sure, this is only the start of what's to come for Sworn In. Their already solid fan base will continue to support and gain more fans for the heavy hitters.
Last Thursday was a huge day for Sworn In. They announced
they would be embarking on their first full U.S. tour with For The
Fallen Dreams, they joined the Pantheon Agency, and closed their night
out with a show in Buffalo, NY for what could be the last time for a
while.
The show was put together last minute but the
turnout was great. This was Sworn In's third time in Buffalo and
vocalist Tyler Dennen noticed some of the same faces. He ordered fans
that knew the lyrics to come up to the front and scream them. Piles of
people climbed over each other, grabbing for Dennen's mic during "The
Opportunist" while some of the more hardcore kids moshed and danced in
the pit.
Sworn
In also performed "Start", "Apex", and "Three Cheers" which kept the
crowd motivated and led to a monitor being broken. Oops. The band's
energy on stage did not falter for their whole set and once again, they
impressed me.
When
"Let Down" started, the entire crowd began to push forward so they
could scream the infamous "I'd rather be letdown than be a letdown
BLEGH" line. Of course, people were flying over each other to reach the
stage. One fan was pulled up on stage to do guest vocals.
After a pleading chant of one more song, Sworn In obliged with "The Deviant" in an attempt to give Buffalo a raging send off.
Opening acts included Buffalo locals Artemis and
Makhai, Syracuse band Jonestown, and Poughkeepsie based Ascensions who
all contributed to the brutal atmosphere and helped get the crowd pumped
for Sworn In.
Sworn In is definitely here to stay and the future
is only looking brighter for them- their album is expected in late
winter. Give them a like on Facebook to see when they'll hit your
hometown.
There's a bar on Main Street here in Buffalo by the name of
Broadway Joe's that local promotion company New Hope Buffalo Booking
hosts most of its shows at. The venue is small, cramped, and generally
frowned upon by many people in the local music scene whether they admit
it outright or not.
However, the normally sparse bar filled up with
around 130 people on Monday night when King Conquer, The Last Ten
Seconds Of Life, Adaliah, and Sworn In brought the heaviest music
Broadway Joe's has heard in a while.
After inclement weather forced The Eat Your Heart
Out Festival in Poughkeepsie, NY to be cancelled this past weekend,
these four hard hitting metal bands were ready to hit the stage and
perform with an intense energy no matter the crowd size. The intense
hate moshing, two stepping, and mic grabbing that the crowd engaged in
only amped the bands up more and made the show one of the most
successful ones New Hope Buffalo Booking has ever had.
Adaliah, Sworn In, and The Last Ten Seconds of Life
were refreshing to listen to and each band brought their own unique
twist within the breakdowns and bass drops. Illinois based band Sworn In
captured the majority of the crowd's attention performing tracks such
as "Apex" and "Letdown" from their latest EP Start/End (available for
free online). Their new single "Three Cheers" received a resounding roar
of approval from the crowd when their vocalist showcased his gutturals
as he prowled on stage, stomping with every crash of cymbals. All of the
members had a fantastic stage presence and were my favorite national
opener of the night.
While
the opening acts held their own, nobody could compare to King Conquer.
With 35,000 likes on Facebook, this Deathcore band deserves way more.
Their songs are technical and well produced on recordings but hearing
them live is a whole new experience. Seeing the passion on vocalist
James Mislow's face as he growls is mesmerizing. He focuses and puts
both his brain and his heart into performing with his equally talented
band. King Conquer performed "Wasted Potential" and "Extinguisher" off
their full length album America's Most Haunted. New singles "Tyranny"
and "A Day Late and A Dollar Short" from their upcoming album 1776 were
also on the set list and pleased the audience to where they chanted for
an encore.
Local bands Deliver The Fallout, Scenery With Solace, and Through The
Hourglass had the honor of sharing the stage with the bands and did
well. However, Through The Hourglass delivered the most energetic set
with vocalist Derek Bajdas utilizing every square inch of the stage and
calling up other local vocalists for "Colors" and "Ifuxwitit". Seeing so
many people support these locals and cheer them on was heartwarming
and exemplified the need to focus on hometown acts and preservation of
the scene.
The Eat Your Heart Out Tour will continue through February 26, concluding in King Conquer's home state of Florida.
Time to turn heavy! For fans of the new generation of pissed off
hardcore... it's time to watch out. There's a new, furious band all out
of XXX's and ready to crack your brain. They're Sworn In and they've
recently made a name for themselves. The resulting cable has united
tech-heads, hardcore kids, and even mathcore fans through the heavy
aural delights. A lot of legitimate Sworn In interest grew over the last
few months.
Links: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes
