Counterparts

And they’re doing quite well! Counterparts are rowing back a bit on the existing wave towards "Post-Hardcore," to the "old school," as it is often called. This means: The melodic guitars that have already made a wide entrance in Post-Hardcore are reduced (not removed), making the overall sound of the band a bit more brutal and "simpler." Consequently, there are fewer high notes and fewer "single notes" accompanying the rhythm guitar. I could even recognize a few parallels to the New Yorkers "Madball" and observed this circumstance with a grin, as I count myself a fan of this group. Personally, I really enjoy the so-called "Old School Hardcore," which works with less musical harmony but with brutal power. However, as already described, these passages are merely reduced, meaning that there is still enough "melody" present. But that’s by no means a bad thing: A middle ground between both styles is definitely possible… and in this case, it has been well achieved! The moods and sounds are catchy and cooperate in every way with the vocals of the seemingly angry singer…

… to whom I will also say a few words. Here again, the rule applies: reduction instead of abolition, although the abolition is not too far off. In Post-HC, mixed vocals have become well established: Between the hard growls and screams, there are (especially in the choruses) real singing parts that clearly express emotions such as despair, love, longing, or sorrow. These calm and vocally high-quality passages are rather rare here: At the end of the song "Outlier" or in the song "Decay" (which is already calmer and features many playful elements), these lines appear; otherwise, one can look forward to continuous roaring and vocal power at its finest.
The rest behaves as one would imagine beautiful hardcore: fast drum rolls, aggressive string instruments, and unfortunately again a bass that is pushed too far into the background (here it’s all about the sound system: highs out, lows in!) and thus only gets attention when one really listens closely. The track "Slave" stands out, introduced by a small riff. In contrast to me, this prospect seems rather meager and should be reworked more closely immediately.

However, there is of course one problem, namely the one mentioned earlier: Even though Counterparts consistently know how to please and stand out a bit with their semi-return to Old-School Hardcore, their recognizability is still relatively low. The melodies, the vocals, the drums; all of this has a strange aftertaste of recognition from other artists in this genre.

However, those who find Counterparts immediately likable will have a great time with good music ahead of them. For those where the spark doesn’t jump over, it will just be "another band" that shines as a small spark in a sea of lights.

For my part, I was able to settle in well, and therefore Counterparts receive "7.5" points from me. They really lacked just a little bit of that "certain something" for the 8 points. But if the guys continue to work beautifully as they have here, then I’m sure their upcoming albums will naturally acquire that "something" on their own.