Described as a melodic hardcore band, SETYØURSAILS come out from Cologne, Germany who are no strangers to some great music and this band are no different. The sheer energy that these guys exude is mesmerizing and refreshing, relying on pure musicality and attitude rather than than just noise and aggression, a trait that surprisingly is lacking in a lot of bands in this genre.
Right out of the gates you get that burst of energy with opening track “Trapped“, a hardcore styled headbanger with some meaty riffs and a driving rhythm backing the whole operation. With a huge breakdown halfway and a further barrage of metal mayhem, this one lets you know what the band are all about.
Moving further down the tracklist, things don’t let up and if anything, only increasingly become more versatile and heavier. The melodic alt rocker “What You Want” is catchy in it’s design while “Conspiracy” has some of the most seamless transitions going from slower bounces to more speedier tempos without breaking a sweat. It’s that versatility from those two songs that make SETYØURSAILS’s music stand out, not knowing where things are going but done in a sensible way.
SETYØURSAILS vocalist Jules is one of the gems in the band and she is one of the reasons for that versaility mentioned, switching from screaming hardcore to soaring melodies made more impactful by a just as memorable guitar section that amplifies it all well. Her harsher vocals give it that aggression but her melodic (but not in a sterilised super clean way) side gives the songs another dimension making the band a well rounded machine. The rest of the group, Andre, Dominic and Pascal are all equally important as each instrument provides the necessary parts that combined together make some truly great music. The guitar riffs alone are equal parts heavy, catchy and in your face and there’s a real grittiness to it all too.
“Riot” is a perfect example of that chemistry the band showcase, lots of headbanging moments and anthemic melodies. “You Make Me Sick” has brilliant passages that stick in your head, the chugging riffs in time with the double kicks halfway speaks volumes in how the band provide those little moments of musical delights.
Moving towards the end of the album and the quality still has not diminshed at all, a rarity for most albums where the halfway point tends to signal some sort of loss in stamina and interest. Here things continue on with tracks like the memorable “Sorry Not Sorry” and the galloping “Alive“, the latter with huge potential to become a hit song that would surely elevate the band to next level status. It’s truly the kind of stuff you would expect from an headliner band and if this is what the band can continue to put out, there’s no telling where things can go.
Even on the last track “One More Round“, the band deliver a one-two punch with a gloriously dirty main guitar riff driving this speedy punk influenced track that somehow also has a real rock n’ roll vibe to it all. You know you got something when you finish off an album as strong as anything before it. This may be melodic hardcore at it’s best but it is so much more at the same time.
TRACKLIST
Trapped
What You Want
Conspiracy
Enough
Riot
Sink Or Swim
You Make Me Sick
Sorry Not Sorry
Alive
One More Round
