Sitting musically somewhere between Dream State, Enter Shikari and That’s The Spirit-era Bring Me The Horizon with a dash of metalcore, Buckinghamshire six piece As Everything Unfolds have been building up to the release of their new EP Closure for the last several months. The EP’s release is upon us next week, so it is time for Rock Sins to get stuck in to see how it has panned out.
As soon as the opening track 17:10 hits full stride, the Dream State comparisons become obviously apparent. Thankfully for both bands, this is a feeling that the listener should be able to shake off as the EP progresses, with As Everything Unfolds sitting somehwat more towards the heavier end of the spectrum than CJ and her Dream State bandmates. Vocalist Charlie Rolfe impresses from the off, while musically 17:10 veers from being more synth powered in the verses to a couple of rather filthy metalcore style breakdowns at various points. It’s a track that makes a statement and makes a good initial impression.
Despondency changes tack somewhat, with an almost Marmozets-esque bouncy vibe to the first two thirds of the track. This continues until it hits the ethereal interlude towards the end which is followed by a thunderous final thirty seconds (those of a nitpicking disposition will probably point to Help Myself by Dream State to draw that comparison again). Sam Stolliday from The City Is Ours lends his considerable growling talents to compliment Charlie in the vocal department on Divided, which is probably the most straightforward track on the EP, approaching something close to a fairly standard metalcore approach for the bulk of the song.
The musical variance continues with You Will Be, which has an underlying synth bounce to it and almost heads into pop-rock territory on a couple of brief occasions before returning swiftly to the heavier realm. The closing track, Centuries, feels in many places like it wouldn’t be out of place on some of Rolo Tomassi’s newer works. Charlie in particular cuts loose fully on Centuries, showing off what is clearly a very impressive range, before the track finishes with something else new – a djent flavoured breakdown.
What As Everything Unfolds have done with Closure is to craft an ultimately enjoyable EP, but one that feels unfocused at times due to the sheer amount of different styles, tempo changes and general twists they’ve crammed into five songs. There’s definite talent here, which if focused slightly could really create something special. It’s not a case of less is more, but perhaps “slightly less is more”. Definitely worth a listen nevertheless.
Closure is released on the 19th of October 2018.