The music industry has always been a breeding ground for below par bands to jump on the coat tails of a popular genre and bleed it for all its creative worth until everyone is sick of hearing it. It happened in the 70s with disco. It happened in the 80s with hair bands. Now, the metal core scene needs to be aware of how history is prone to repeating itself. Yet, once in a while, a glimmer seems to shine through the sea of mediocrity.
A group of guys from New Jersey calling themselves The Air I Breathe have recently unleashed their debut album Great Faith in Fools onto the metal core scene. They have definitely created some waves in this somewhat stagnant pool of imitators. While not necessarily recreating the genre, TAIB show signs of uniqueness and creativity that are needed to keep the metal core scene thriving and fresh.
The opening track “The Inevitable” is a short track whose intro is an odd subway conjuring sound. The only line in this song pretty much sets the tone for the album, ‘When the world turns its back on you, turn your back on the f’n world”. That leads into “Take This to Heart” which begins with Tony Dougard’s guttural growls and the one-two guitar punch of Jesse Butler and Cam Baptisa. This song grabs you by the jugular and refuses to let go.
There are plenty of the quote unquote “traditional” elements of metal core throughout the album. The riffs are heavy and there are plenty of breakdowns to be found so as not to disappoint the enthusiasts. Yet, Cam’s blistering finger work is refreshing to the ear and a style that will surely elevate him to a higher level of guitar hero worthiness.
There are quite a few standout tracks on here. “The Life I Promised” and “Here’s To Letting Go” are two great examples of how this band is much stronger than what you usually get from a group’s debut effort. The guitar work is insanely solid and Tony does a great job mixing in clean vocals on the chorus to compliment the aggressiveness of his growls. “XIII” is a song that proves size doesn’t matter. It clocks in at less than three minutes, but it proves to be a song small in quantity, yet heavy in quality. If this doesn’t get you head banging, then there is not much hope for you and maybe you need to get back to your Top 40 fluffy songs.
Great Faith in Fools is a very strong album by TAIB and is much stronger than the label “debut” usually implies. Is there room for improvement? I would have to make note of the song writing and hope for a little meatier content next time. I’m not asking to reinvent the wheel, but give me something with a little more substance.
The Air I Breathe is a band to get excited about. A young band that puts out a debut this strong is one to keep an eye on. I do highly recommend it and I hope people who may grown bored with the metal core genre will give it an honest listen. It may just kick start your hunger for this flavor that you’ve grown tired of.
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