Album Review: InDirections - 'Clockworks'

It's pretty disappointing that a band's debut full-length album can sound this generic and uninventive. It's almost disheartening in a way that enough people sat in a room, listened to this record and thought that this was more than just recycled metalcore, and even more so worthy of being heard by the masses.

InDirections have ticked the to-do list here, produced everything to the max, and thrown in enough breakdowns and electronic stutters to make sure that every tiny piece of original thought has been abolished beyond recognition.

Scream the verses, clean up the chorus lines, add in some keyboard parts, do people really want to hear more of this? Do we need more bands that are just carbon copies? Are we not a little bored of this by now?

If you have heard records from bands like Crown The Empire, Like Moths To Flames and Woe, Is Me, then you have already heard this album. The positives, that we are scrapping for, is that these guys have done their homework, they are obviously huge metalcore fans and super excited to be able to sound exactly like their heroes, which they do, throwing out all artistic excitement in the process.

The songs are meticulously written and planned out to be exactly as you would expect a metalcore track to sound: a dead straight road with no turns or surprises whatsoever. This seems like the point where a young up and coming band would take the opportunity to improve on the design rather than blatantly replicate it. They perform the genre well, but are essentially a cover band. We're also praying that the one word song titles is just a coincidence and wasn’t actually planned.

Expect to see these guys on the next 'Punk Goes Pop' covering Miley Cyrus or something, adding to the truly predictable and boring direction in which this genre and scene are heading.

1. Clockworks

2. Enemies

3. Definance

4. Surface

5. Reflections

6. Breathless

7. Secrets

8. Throne

9. Illumination

10. Sleepless