HALCYON DAYS

Rain Soaked Pavements & Fresh Cut Grass

INDIE RECORDINGS Norway’s metalcore hopefuls overlook their own strengths

Miraculously, the toe-curling title isn’t the worst thing about the second album from Oslo’s Halcyon Days. While the band’s sound sits comfortably on the metalcore spectrum, it’s still disappointing how frequently Rain Soaked Pavements & Fresh

Cut Grass fails to sound like more than the sum of its parts. There are elements to satisfy fans of metal, hardcore and even pop-punk, and therein lies the real problem: Halcyon Days’ failure to recognise and focus on their own strengths. In particular, Catcher features some dual guitar work that’s far more interesting than the by-the-numbers vocals that relegates it to the background. There are riffs and hooks here that suggest the DNA of a better band, but in its current form there are just too many acts doing this sort of thing better for Halcyon Days to be a tempting prospect. FOR FANS OF: UNDEROATH, BEARTOOTH, BLESSTHEFALL