So we have five young men from California in A Love Ends Suicide. They released their first EP, 'The Cycle Of Hope' back in 2004. This was self-financed, and they have since recorded 'In The Disaster', their debut album, after being signed to Metal Blade.

At first listen 'In The Disaster' sounds a bit samey, and it's all a bit Trivium - yawn. A few more spins make it clear that they're not a one trick pony and there are a few techniques and details in there with which I was pleasantly surprised.

There's a bit of chugging, a good deal of riffage and an awful lot of widdle. Too much. If they stripped some of their music back it would benefit greatly, and I think this is a common failing of young bands - they feel that they have to prove themselves so they go overboard. Some of the guitar work is quite progressive and techy in sound but again the album would benefit from more of a variation - there's a good demonstration of a change of pace in 'Dying To Be Beautiful' which the band could experiment with more.

Vocally I can give you a stock market tip - invest in throat sweets, because the way John Cairoli sings must hurt. However since John Tardy of Obituary has been growling in similar style for quite a few years now (since at least 1985 in fact) I guess Mr Cairoli might have staying power. Unfortunately the vocals don't always fit with the music - much of the album would benefit from a less is more approach, for example to allow the guitars room to breathe, and personally I'm not keen on the growl/clean emocore vocal style.

'In The Disaster' could easily be dismissed as yet another Trivium wannabe band but they're worth more than that. Repeated listens to the disc make that clear and they've a lot going for them but I'm still a bit unconvinced. If you're a fan of Trivium et al give these guys a try. Definitely one of the better emocore bands out there. They're a young band, and they've got some potential but a lot of work to do.

**

Review by Amanda Hyne

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