"I haven't come across any deathcore like this in a long, long time... thank god Preapared Like a Bride came around"
It never ceases to amaze me on how awesome the Australian metalcore/deathcore scene it. There is just so much talent tucked away in pretty much every city or town and it’s only until these bands show themselves that their presence is made known. Not only is Australia’s reputation well known within its own scene, but it still stands across the globe. When I first heard of Prepared Like a Bride, I automatically thought “should I, or shouldn’t I” (knowing that I could potentially be wasting much of my time). With a name like Prepared Like a Bride and an EP title like Within World's Apart, I automatically thought screamo or some kind of clichéd emo band. The last thing I was expecting was deathcore (and who could blame me), and not only that, but (I know I’ve said this a thousand times) some of the best deathcore I’ve ever heard and I’ve heard a lot of deathcore. I think the world should be prepared for Prepared Like a Bride.
The opening breakdown in Within World's Apart (after the into that is) didn’t really give much away in terms of what kind of deathcore this was going to be, it was only until I started getting into the guts of the track (I’m not saying that the opening breakdown didn’t have guts, because it was gutsy as hell). Progressive deathcore it was and as many people may or may not know, I’m not the biggest fan of progressive deathcore. Bands which people jump up and down and scream in happiness and joy over, I simply stand there in silence or sigh as they deliver their overly generic material. However, Prepared Like a Bride are different, very different from everything else and in this case, that’s a great thing. The style of progressive deathcore they play is unlike anything I’ve ever heard in my life, sure when you really, really listen in close you may hear a few elements here and there from the more prominent progressive deathcore bands; The Contortionist, The Yellow Sign, Volumes and Born of Osiris. However, the way they’ve incorporated those elements into their music is what makes Prepared Like a Bride extra special and the song writing in Within World's Apart is simply awe inspiring. The guitar riffs are classic progressive deathcore, they give atmosphere and a sense of scale and feeling, it’s almost as if you were in a dream.
However, listening to Within World's Apart a is not only just some kind of progressive experience where the music takes you to a land full of unicorns and magical fairies who are there to take care of your every fear and sadness, there are times where my head got bobbin hard. Unlike other progressive deathcore bands who try to emulate the most inspirational bands simply by having nothing but ambience in their music, Prepared Like a Bride can get pretty fucking heavy and as a result of that Within World's Apart is one of heaviest progressive deathcore bands I’ve ever heard. There is lots and lots of evidence in Within World's Apart of regular deathcore, and the way that Prepared Like a Bride has executed their brand of regular deathcore is amazing; the guitar riffs are of the correct tone, the drumming is blasty enough and the overall aesthetics of the music are all correct. What seems to also be evident here is the fact that Prepared Like a Bride don’t seem like one of those bands who are way too serious about making music, they’re not one of those bands who believe that if they play as hard as they can they’ll make it. Just the sounds and the way everything was put together in Within World's Apart just sounds like they’ve composed music that they’ve actually enjoyed making, it doesn’t sound forced at all. In return, it gives the listener a slightly eased feeling… which is awesome.
Now there is one last elements that I can pick up in the background which is a vital component to their music because it holds everything else together. The melodic deathcore side to the music is not really the most conspicuous part of Prepared Like a Bide but if you listen really closely to some sections of Within World's Apart it sounds oddly melodic in comparison to the rest of the EP and when I mean melodic, I actually mean melodic deathcore. That’s right, three styles of deathcore in this single EP. Like I’ve mentioned before, the guitars can sometimes be progy, and some other times they can just be straight up deathcore, and other times they’re more like melodic death or melodic deathcore. You’ll never know what Prepared Like a Bride will pull out of the bag next when listening to Within World's Apart because there is a totally different listening experience around every corner and it’s this fact about Prepared Like a Bride’s Within World's Apart that makes it so awesome to listen to. There are some really complex riffs which are played at times, the style that a band like The Black Dahlia Murder or something like that would play. This just adds another extra dimension to their music which gives more people an excuse to listen and enjoy the music.
Just like I’ve lightly touched on before, Prepared Like a Bride have a brutal side to their music. However, what I didn’t mention before was the sheer extent of the brutality and heaviness to their music. The breakdowns! These breakdowns are extremely, extremely heavy and they’re definitely right up there with the heaviest I’ve heard. I simply cannot describe the awesomeness of the breakdowns in Prepared Like a Bride because they just make the music so much better than if they were without or if they had chosen a different type of breakdown to use. That’s what I don’t like about other progressive deathcore bands, is that they all use the same damn breakdown over and over again. You know, that style of breakdown with it’s short sharp bursts of sound with a djenty guitar distortion. The ones here are the kind of breakdowns that you’d find in Suicide Silence’s first album The Cleansing. They’re heavy, they’re slow, they drag on for a long time and it sets a completely different scene in comparison to the rest of the lovey dovey stuff. Also the way the vocalist combines the heavy breakdowns with his guttural lows, is just awesome. The standout breakdown in Within World's Apart do get close is definitely the one in “Find Your Own Way Home”, it’s just awesome.
The last thing I’d like to point out about Within World's Apart is that the band presents an upbeat atmosphere as well as a feeling of juvenility and youth throughout the most part of the EP. I don’t know why, but listening to Within World's Apart just made me feel like a teenager (apart from the fact that I am a teen), but it just makes me want to go out and have some fun just like a teenager should. However, I’m not sure if that’s just some kind of personal attachment I have to Within World's Apart or if others feel it to (I hope I’m normal). Well I guess I’ll just have to keep listening to this until I’m 80.
One small complaint I have about Within Worlds Apart is the fact that there are so many useless tracks. I mean, there are two introductory tracks in this ep, why two? Can’t we just have one track by just merging both of them together? Because that would make much more sense if that was the case (I find it ironic how one of the intros is titled “No Time to Waste”). Also I know that track seven “Interlude” is the interlude for “Doritos” (it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work that out) but why can’t it have a proper name like everything else. Call it “Dip” or “Guacamole”, “Interlude” seems rather bland considering that Within World's Apart is a very colourful EP.
Overall, Within World's Apart was a wonderful listening experience. The perfect mix and balance of three styles of deathcore into a single distinctive sound and some emotional attachments along the way have allowed Prepared Like a Bride to unleash their maximum potential. Within World's Apart is definitely the kind of quality that I would expect from Australian deathcore and still proves to world that Australia’s deathcore scene is the best scene PERIOD! I highly recommend Within World's Apart to any deathcore junkies out there who is looking for something that is a little bit beyond what most other bands seem to be capable of. The three styles of deathcore here should be plenty to satisfy everyone’s need for deathcore. I’d also like to recommend the track “Find Your Own Way Home” too because it’s the perfect deathcore package; it has melody, kickass song writing awesome musicianship and heavy breakdowns. I was so glad that I came across this because without it I’d still be listening to the same old boring deathcore. I give Prepared Like a Bride’s Within Worlds Apart a 18/20.
18/20
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