SINGLE REVIEW: Edenborn – “Lionheart” [2014]

Artist: Edenborn

Single: Lionheart

Typically, when a band strives to reach an equilibrium between their influences, they go about it in one of two ways. The first is a bipolar clash of two titans, so to speak; mish-mashing heaviness and ambience, throwing it against a wall and hoping something sticks. The second is to craft lengthy, epic tracks that take the listener on a Tolkien-esque journey through churning, crushing tidal waves and smooth, serene seas alike. The tricky truth with New York’s metalcore quintet Edenborn is that they travel both roads—and this couldn’t be clearer on their latest single, “Lionheart.” Simply put, “Lionheart” does in one track what previously took the band an entire EP to do, by capturing an entire ocean’s worth of Twentyone Eightythree’s diverse sound and condensing it into a track that hits like a shotgun blast, yet is as immersive as a multi-volume novel.

“Lionheart” begins by showcasing Edenborn’s penchant for punchy, percussion and riff-heavy rambunctiousness. Dark, inky fretwork and bass guitar splashes across a driving baseline of unstoppable drumming, packed with fills and drop-of-a-dime time changes that force the listener’s jaw to drop. However, as the track progresses, Connor Warren’s drum lines focus less on technicality and more on creating a canvas for guitarists Sharon Malfesi and Andrew Formale to co-operate rather than clash, crafting broad, ethereal melodies where there was previously frantic, furious dissonance. This shift in the track’s narrative voice is amplified by vocalist Patrick Anthony sharing more of his duties with clean singer Malfesi. Malfesi provides a smooth, serene reprieve from Anthony’s harsh, grating shouts and shrill screams. The result? Edenborn create a shifting balance throughout the track—one that starts more aggressive than ambient, but ends the opposite, taking the listener on a journey in the process. Dense, but not over-packed, immersive—but not languid or over-drawn, “Lionheart” is evidence of a matured band, and a track that is not for the faint of heart.

5/5

For Fans Of: He Is Legend, Climates, Azriel, Parkway Drive, Structure

By: Connor Welsh