Video Of The Week #6

It Prevails, need I say more? One word to describe them? Awesomeamazing. Yeah, I just combined awesome and amazing, but that should be a real word. They are awesomeamazing. Look I did it again. Anyway, enjoy!

Hundredth – When Will We Surrender

This 5 piece band hails from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. When Will We surrender is their first full length album, is it any good? Well let’s see.

Their lyrics revolves around a “never giving up” attitude and to accompany that a very melodic sound. Like many other metalcore/melodic hardcore bands they have the “famous” breakdowns. A must in this genre of music. But the difference between Hundredth and a lot of other bands seems to be that the former uses less breakdowns. Yes, the breakdowns are there but there is not a overuse (or underuse either for that matter). It’s nearly perfect in my mind.

One thing that annoys me about this band is that bassist Michael Raymo is not present. Well ok, he’s there, but you can’t hear it. This is true for a lot of bands in this genre. Although I love this kind of music, I have never really understood why they need a bassist in the first place if he never gets to shine, even if just a little bit. Now that is a minor complaint that can be applied to 99% of all band in this genre. But nevertheless it’s a valid complaint. Drummer Matt Koontz is for the most part just an average drummer that shines from time to time. I would like him to take a little more space in their music, there are some drum fills where he shows what he can do, more of that please.

Alex Blackwell and Andrew Minervini plays guitar in Hundredth. On this record they have the usual chugging and riff combination as most bands in metalcore/melodic hardcore does. No solos are present which can be a bit disappointing for some people, but I feel that the guitars are good enough as they are. They contribute much to Hundredth melodic sound. A good solo would certainly make this band stand out even more but isn’t a necessity to make you remember or like this band.

When it comes to the vocals they are really good. The first time I listen to this band I understood almost every word, which isn’t always the case with such aggressive vocals. But you come to a certain point where singer Chadwick Johnson vocals becomes a bit repetitive, a bit boring actually. Next time around I hope that he has worked a bit on this so that he has a bigger spectrum to play around with. If you listen to this record you might pick up on that the vocals changes in some songs. Well you might actually be right, there are 3  guest vocalists that makes appearances on this record. The first track of the record, “Catalysts” features  Matthew Hasting of MyChildren MyBride. Then we have Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside doing his thing on the track “Desolate”. Last but not least we have Ian Fike of It Prevails on the track “Willows”.

“Catalysts” features Matthew Hasting of MyChildren MyBride who I’m personally not that familiar with. I would say that he makes a decent performance on this song. It’s ok, not more than that.

On “Desolate” Jonathan Vigil makes an appearance. Although I love The Ghost Inside as a band and love Vigils vocals, it’s a bit hard to work out who’s who in this track. Still a great track though.

I love how they make use of Ian Fikes vocals on “Willows”. This song suits him perfectly. I love the lyrics too.

“My Whole Life…I’ve been compared to those around me. Expectations on my shoulder and people to please.
I will no longer sway with the willows. I will stand strong on my own. When everyone lets me down, I will stand strong alone.”

There are tons of melodic hardcore bands out there, but I think what makes Hundredth stand out from the masses are their undeniable passion for their music. This band does not reinvent the wheel by any means, but it’s nonetheless really good music. Remember that this is their first full length album, hopefully they have a lot of time to improve. I think that with a little work these guys can get huge. I’m not kidding, there is something about this record that takes a hold of you and just won’t let go. Although this record can get a bit repetitive or even a little bit cliché for this genre,  it’s full of emotion and that is what saves it. I can’t wait for their next release, keep an eye on these guys, they are on to something great.

Rating: 4 out of 5