Album Review: Havoc - 'Undiscovered Paradise'

Havoc, one of the many Perth based metalcore bands doing the local round's at the moment, have a new EP out. It's a decent dose of Australian metalcore, if nothing else. Yeah, it's a pretty breakdown heavy affair and takes a lot queues from other Perth starlets such as Saviour (mainly in the vocal department) and Make Them Suffer (just without those symphonic elements), but it still can entertain on its own merits.

It doesn't start out that way however. The first three songs; 'Relapse', 'Lost At Home' and 'Davies Locker' are all solid, but they just feel a little filler. Which is bad news if most of the songs are just average and it's only a five track release like 'Undiscovered Paradise'. Thankfully, once the title track is reached, things click a little more and the enjoyment dial is turned way up! The opening riff, one that pops up throughout most of the song, really hooks you in. It would also work really well as the opening song for a live set. Writing a heavy song that's no different from a song that a fellow local band is writing at the time makes things difficult to stand out. So what do you do? You make sure your music hits as hard as it can. That's exactly what the eponymous track and the last song, 'Forever In My Heart' do: they hit you like a freight train going full speed. 'Forever In My Heart' also has a more melodic metal influence in it, as it sounds a bit like an old Killswitch Engage song, especially with the swirling guitar solo as its finale.

Unfortunately for Havoc, being in a hardcore/metalcore band in Australia these days is like being a small fish in a very big fucking sea. The local scene has reached a point now that unless you're either Parkway Drive or I Killed The Prom Queen, or are apart of the UNFD roster, it is always going to be tough creating something special from your band. Of course, being in any band is tough 99% of the time for anyone, whether you've just started out or just joined a band. To be fair, Havoc are better than most other copy cat bands you'll find plugging their music across Triple J Unearthed and Bandcamp these days, but this EP is just a half-awesome, half-incredibly average listen.

If you fancy some homegrown heavy music, give 'Undiscovered Paradise' a look. It may not wow you enough to go get their name tattooed across your neck, or for you to violently pit, but you'll be sure to like it. If you live in or around Perth, make sure you go give these dudes some support at least. They have the potential for some seriously good shit coming in the future.

Relapse

Lost At Home

Davies Locker

Undiscovered Paradise

Forever In My Heart