What’s the best cure for a hangover? Probably a breakfast beer and most certainly not an EP from a metalcore band. Unfortunately, there was no beer left in the fridge but there was an EP from Glasgow band Sixth Wonder. Hell, that’s just what the doctor ordered. Sort of.
Five songs later and I am actually feeling slightly better despite Sixth Wonder clearly having been at the bring and buy sale and swapping a suitcase full of subtlety for a bag full of power chords. So far so good if I happened to be looking for an effective means of ending the functionality of my ears. Is there more than just volume though? Perhaps there is. There has always been, to my simple mind at least, something theatrical about the whole metalcore scene. Not theatrical in a showtune way but theatrical in the overblown dramatic sense so that all that volume becomes more of a counterpoint rather than the most direct means of bringing down the walls of Jericho with, as a picture postcard example of Sixth Wonder’s artistic intent, Rebekah Kirk’s voice moving deftly between melody and the guttural sounds so beloved of the genre.
To that end, Sixth Wonder show a decent grasp of the art of weaving more into their song structure than yet another power chord assault and, while the band would no doubt do property damage when playing live, listening to them at a safe distance and volume is still a worthwhile experience. There is, of course, the (fake) blood and the knowing nod to the inhabitants of the underworld that fans of the metalcore genre are addicted to yet this band’s particular brand of posturing is clearly more ambitious than many of their contemporaries.