Anyone feeling jaded about ‘the youth of today’ and their work ethic need look no further than Fermanagh alt-metallers Attack the Day. Since their formation as a four piece in 2012 they’ve seemingly not let up for a minute with their relentless gigging schedule and savvy social media campaign. Picking up first-time vocalist Dáithì Murphy in 2014 really pressed their foot to the floor, the result of which is their debut EP Shadows, released in early June this year.
The six track EP begins with ‘Intro’, with its delicate and somehow moody guitar line which leads into ‘Alive’, a song that is most definitely not delicate. A deep, growling guitar intro leads into an immediately headbang-worthy riff which charges throughout the song. It’s a musically exciting and well executed number, with the only drawback being the slightly inexperienced vocals. They sound young, it’s fair to say. But hey, ya gotta start somewhere right?
The band certainly display an eclectic set of influences, with grunge rearing its head a few times (in ‘Egyptian’ and the Nirvana-channelling ‘Shadows’ in particular), alt rock radio darlings like the Fratellis (‘Divided’ and aptly named final number ‘This Is How It Ends’), and even a bit of the trippier side of Radiohead, again in the aforementioned EP closer. That said, they’re at their strongest when they fire on all cylinders, with ‘Egyptian’ and ‘Alive’ pressing the highest amount of buttons, vocal inexperience notwithstanding.
With Shadows Attack the Day have debuted a sound that manages to straddle the border between ‘alt rock’ and ‘alt metal’ quite successfully. The EP positively bristles with unabashed youthful enthusiasm, and if shades of their greenness peek through every now and again, the old mantra of ‘practice makes perfect’ springs to mind. There’s a wealth of promising talent to be tapped into in this hardworking young band.
◀ STANDOUT ⁞ Egyptian▶
◀ SOUNDS LIKE ⁞ Torche | Baroness ▶
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