LYCHWAY

Melodic Metalcore • United Kingdom
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Lychway is a British melodic metalcore act from Ipswich in Suffolk, formed in early 2011.

Lychway quickly established its name on the scene, and released its debut EP in August 2011.
Thanks to Time Signature for the addition and Bosh66 for the updates

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LYCHWAY Lychway album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
Lychway
Melodic Metalcore 2011
LYCHWAY In Search album cover 3.59 | 3 ratings
In Search
Melodic Metalcore 2011

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LYCHWAY In Search

EP · 2011 · Melodic Metalcore
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
Time Signature
Hellbound...

Genre: melodic metalcore

Now, metalcore has developed into a very broad genre spanning numerous subgenres such as mathcore, deathcore, melodycore, and what not. It is true that metalcore has sort of reached the same status in modern day metal as glam metal had in the 80s and nu metal in the 90s - that is, a subgenre considered untrue metal and rejected per se by many fan segments within the metal community. Now, in my experience, there is a lot of good metalcore out there (and I do not consider metalcore untrue metal by the way), so I do not reject all metalcore releases per se.

So, when I was presented with the oprtunity of reviewing this upcoming release, I obviously jumped at it, and I am glad I did, because "In Search" by Lychway is actually quite good.

The opening track, appropriately called "Opening Remarks" starts out with a nice tapping intro with the vocals very low in the mix, and then changes into a Coheed & Cambria-like two-guitar melody sort of verse where each guitar plays its own lead pattern (one continues the tapping while the other plays a simple two-strokes-and-a-bend melody), while the vocals are now louder in the mix. And this works well as an intro, although I like what they do in this track so much that I wish they had made a full track out of it.

The following track "Whispers" sort of continues down the same lane combining an kind of dark U2-style atmospheric lead guitar pattern (with added delay) with a more solid and simple riffing guitar whose riff is also sort of melodic, and quite awesome. This track also contains one of those breakdowns that characterize metalcore, and in this track the breakdown works very well as it combines simple groove with bursts of dissonance.

"Hellbound" is another very melodic track in which one of the guitars play a tapping based lead melody. Starting out heavy, the track changes into a more uptempo track, and some of the riffage seems to be inspired by alternative metal or grunge from the 90s. Towards the end there is another sort of metalcore breakdown (except there are vocals all the way through), and again this is a well executed breakdown which slowly disintegrates and serves as an interesting outro of the song.

"Passing the Same Faces, Different Days" makes use of the same sort of changing between heavy and uptempo parts, and contains some of the best melodic lead guitars on the EP, and there is also a heavy sort of breakdown (again accompanied by vocals), and again the breakdown fits neatly into the overall picture of the track.

"Space Between (Interlude)" is a very melodic instrumental, as the title indicates, interlude, and as with "Opening Remarks", I like what they do in this track so much that I wish they'd make a whole song out of it.

The title track is a heavier affair with a couple of doom-ladden sections and, of course, the obligatory melodic guitar leads.

The only points of criticism I have are that I think that the screamed vocals become kind of monotonous. The vocalist delivers them convincingly, and, in away, the band deserve kudos for avoiding the metalcore cliché combination of harsh and clean vocals. However, given that the music on this release is as melodic as it is, clean melodic vocals now and then would suit the whole atmosphere and overall feel of this EP very well. My other point of criticism is that there are no guitar solos - there is plenty of lead guitar, which is great. It sort of evokes the same melancholic feel as Paradise Lost's music does, which is bolstered by the use of atmospheric keyboards. However - again, given the melodic nature of the music on this release - some melodic guitar solos would enrich the overall musical experience of listening to "In Search".

In all this is a very solid metalcore release which emphasizes melody without sacrificing heaviness and groovy breakdowns. Fans of melodic metalcore should certainly check out this EP when it gets released in August.

LYCHWAY In Search

EP · 2011 · Melodic Metalcore
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
The Block
Lychway is a very new band forming in early 2011, and this is their first release as a band. Already they’ve made a name for themselves over in England touring with many bands up until of the release of their new EP. Due out in August, and offered up for free online, Lychway is already a step ahead with their music, and trying to reach an even greater audience.

Metalcore is almost never something I enjoy on first listen, and if I ever do get to enjoy it, it usually takes some time. But “In Search” is a very quality release so it was easy for me to get into it early on. Songs such as “Opening Remarks” and “Hellbound” are among my favorites on the EP because of the fact that they are pretty melodic. Both songs start out with great guitar riffs and then transfer into okay vocal sections. In “Opening Remarks” the vocals come in pretty smoothly, especially for metalcore, and are kept low in the mix at first almost like a warm up to the actual vocals. This is really cool, and I actually enjoy some of the lyrics on this album, even though I don’t really know what they’re saying, but that’s ok. Another good song is “Space Inbetween (Interlude)” which is totally instrumental, not something you find much in metalcore, and features some very good playing overall by the band.

The amazing thing about this release, though is that is includes keyboards. Most metalcore bands that I’ve heard in the past are your usual meat and potatoes mix of guitar, bass, and drums and not much else besides vocals. The addition of this fourth instrument adds a nice touch that makes the album more enjoyable than most other releases of this kind. The production is pretty clean, and suites the album very well.

Lychway definitely has a bright future ahead of them and has shown great musicianship on this album. I can not say it enough, but metalcore doesn’t garner much love from me but this album is amongst the best that I’ve heard in awhile so Lychway gets 3.5 stars.

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