Album Review: The Color Morale - 'Know Hope'

The first track, 'Burn Victims', launches 'Know Hope' with an explosion of strength and heaviness that reminds fans of The Color Morale’s refined metalcore sound, while introducing the occasional post hardcore tendencies. The first thing listeners will notice is that the lead vocals have changed. No cause for alarm however, as 'Know Hope' diversifies the vocal flexibilities of the band, adding to the grinding metal chugs, higher screams and grittier clean vocals.

Nevertheless, as listeners will hear in ‘Living Breathing Something’ and ‘Learned Behaviour’, the choruses remain driven primarily by soaring hooks delivered in the boyish clean vocals that The Color Morale are known for. While the instrumental production at times overshadows the clean vocals, the overall mixing of the album remains slick and polished. While the band are mixing up in the vocal department, the instrumentals are as vicious and brutal as ever, and in ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ and standout track ‘Steadfast’ the band delivers an explosiveness that is difficult to ignore.

'Know Hope' is an album that is wonderfully cohesive and conceptually strong, facilitated by the band’s obvious devotion to their music. Subtle references to faith and religion shouldn’t deter fans of good quality metalcore, and songs like ‘In Light In Me’ and ‘Saviorself’ are undeniably influenced by the faith of the band members. This, however, is a fact that only serves to increase that undeniable passion and sincerity of their work, and indeed, ‘In Light In Me’ allows for the lead’s clean vocals to dominate the track and operates as a mechanism for enriching the emotional believability of the album.

Closing the album on note similar to how it began, ‘Have.Will’ and ‘Steadfast’ delivers what listeners will now come to expect from The Color Morale: deliciously brutal tracks that should, with breakdowns and soaring clean choruses alike, please fans of both the post hardcore and the metalcore persuasion.

'Know Hope' establishes The Color Morale as a band that have achieved much since their last release, having advanced and polished their sound, and may just elevate them into the status they deserve.

1. Burn Victms
2. Smoke and Mirrors
3. Learned Behavior
4. Living Breathing Something
5. Strange Comfort
6. In Light In Me
7. Silver Lining
8. Steadfast
9. Hole Hearted
10. Saviorself
11. Have.Will
12. Never Enders