Record Label: Hand Of Hope
Genre: Metalcore
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

You must be joking. “By Autumn’s End”? Ugh. If I had the money, I would establish a think tank comprised of every metalcore, emocore, and Christcore band, and give them a million dollars and two years to come up with a band name that doesn’t reference the changing of the seasons.

But then they’d be like, “Mr. Coozer, we have finally come up with a name! And it only took us from the ashes of December to the fallen leaves of August!” At which point, I would spontaneously combust, bringing them all down with me.

Anyway, BAE (I’m not going to say their stupid fucking name) are really good. They’re not at all emo, but crisp, sharp midtempo metalcore with a solid metal groove. I want to say they’re a Christian band, but they curse a lot, which is atypical. But being a foul-mouthed Christian band is pretty cool too.

Some songs really surprise with classic metal riffing, and all the tunes, even “A Minute and Thirty Nine Second Panic Attack,” whose title makes you think unrelenting thrash, keep a steady, headbanging pace.

The slower tempo and doom rock-like distortion never get boring due to constant time changes within songs and frequent variation from the usual verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus. And it doesn’t hurt that the songs are kept well under 3 minutes each.

It’s good to hear metalcore that isn’t trying to be super brutal or aggressive. I think I’ll hold onto this CD, at least until the deadening of October’s quiet Sunday.

Bottom Line: Surprisingly restrained metalcore with smart musicianship.
Notable Tracks: Holy Blood somethin somethin, I’d type out more titles but they’re all really long.
Overall Rating: