Review by JD on July 31, 2016.

When I am given a band that I know very little about, I am instantly intrigued with the process of getting a sense of the band and its music, all the while without all of the bios and other things written about them getting in my way.

I see Rise to Fall are described differently in various places. One says they play groove metal, the band itself deems their music more as modern melodic death metal and others lists them as a screamo metal outfit. I simply will settle it for myself and dive right in to the disk, and hope to find where the hell this Spain based band ends up landing and whether or not it’s good.

Strong musicianship hits you first. Yes, it has elements of death, screamo, and groove yet I hear nu-metal and even shading of a melodic thrash at times. What it means is this: this band can play, and play it hard. From the first track which is the album’s title to the last track, they come at you full force. I happen to enjoy tracks like 'Murk Empires' and 'Dark Clowns Leading Blinds' which are powerful and yet very mature lyrically. It is not among my normal things to listen to, but this did impress me.

It was a big surprise just how good they were… by the press, they were very good… I put them over that. With heaviness and melody put into a frame work of solid musicianship, this band proves that they are on the rise. Even if you are not into the screaming vocals thing, think you just might still like this album, it fits so well, along with the melodic vocals that tie it all in.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10