A quintet producing metallic and melodic hardcore sounds from Youngtown, Ohio, Alteras are interested in much more than providing an auditory assault with their pummeling and throaty approach. Instead, they seek to reach out to those dealing with turbulent times, reflecting the reality that the songs on this first album were birthed out of difficult times for the band themselves. Containing a healthy mix of charged intensity as well as tuneful, softer moments, this album unsurprisingly attracted the interest of renowned label Revival Records (operated by members of Alesana).
It’s a toss up as to which approach the band do better. On one hand, the chugging, raw tension and rapid-fire drumming of “Broke” or the furious pace of “Everything You Ever Wanted” solidify the band as masters of pounding anthems, while other songs, like “Could Ever Love,” with its pianos and singing that hits higher notes, are closer to pop-punk.
The band have a penchant for atypical beginnings of their tunes, such as “After All,” which leads with keys before the rage, and they show their gentler side on the quieter offerings “Could Ever Love” and “Black Box,” the latter being a memorable acoustic singer-songwriter moment. Though the album places the best tracks toward the beginning, especially with “Scars,” where pianos and the most melodic sensibilities are present and punctuated by some growling, this doesn’t carry quite enough weight to deter the “more of the same” feeling that creeps in later on.
Alteras certainly don’t sound like neophytes here, as this debut is slick, well-played, and produced with precision. For fans of this genre, it possesses all the characteristics that will make these guys well-known, though the impact here would have been far greater had this been an EP. For anyone with interests along the post-hardcore or metalcore spectrum, or fans of Comeback Kid or The Used, this band should be on your radar.
