Having built up a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands around over the past year, Crossfaith have fast become one of the most talked about bands on the Metalcore scene. Dance and electronics have been a part of Metalcore for a while now but no one has been able to master it quite like Crossfaith. Whilst most bands tended to just throw in the odd electronic section in, Crossfaith completely balance the two elements out, making Apocalyze one of the most refreshing Metalcore albums in recent years.
From the opening notes of “We Are The Future” it’s clear Crossfaith are trying to cram the high energy excitement of their live show into this album, the result is a furious opening track with one of the best breakdowns on any metalcore album this year. What is much more apparent this time is that Crossfaith have started to push the dance elements more than on any of their previous releases. “Eclipse” perfectly demonstrates this and sounds like The Prodigy if you just cranked everything up to 11. “Scarlett” is another track that brings in even more dance elements adding in some female vocals whilst the albums stand out track “Gala Hala (Burn Down The Floor)” is basically a Nu-Metal track with the albums bounciest riff and even some Nu-Metal DJ scratches. It all just helps to mix things up on the album and stops the metalcore / dance combination from getting stale.
Musically this is easily Crossfaiths best work yet, with each member of the band being able show off what they can do. Lyrically things more varied and often darker on Apocalyze, particularly on closing track “Only The Wise Can Control Our Wise”, which is about the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. All these reasons just come together to make this Crossfaith’s best album yet. It won’t appeal to everyone as a large number of metal purists will turn their nose up due to the electronic and dance elements and despite blurring the lines between dance and metal it is still likely to be too heavy for mainstream dance crowds but none of this stop Apocalyze from being one of the most exciting albums of the year and Crossfaith now have even more songs to add to their live show which are sure to send the crowds into a frenzy.
