Well, I was surprised. The cover and band name made me really skeptical. The label, as well. From what I've reviewed, Hand of Hope has given me a fairly decent metalcore band, and a fairly mediocre metalcore band. What type of metalcore would Every New Day be?

The answer is none. None type of metalcore. But rather, melodic hardcore seemed to be the venture this band took. And damn, I've never really been a fan of the genre, but this is pretty damn good. I mean it. Put aside the silly album art and the slightly bad lyrics. There is some really awesome kickass hardcore riffs. The band isn't traditionalist in their hardcore. Blast-beat breakdowns with metal riffs are interspersed with really melodic breakdowns, which are interspersed with plenty of double time and mid-tempo hardcore riffs. It reminds me of early Hot Water Music that decided to add tons of kickass metal riffs to their music and also add a more traditionalist hardcore feel as well. And wrote bad lyrics. And embraced silly dark imagery.

What really makes this album fun isn't the technical precision that all members of this band don't waste anytime showing off (although they are the type of musicians that make me drop my jaw), it isn't the fact that they've achieved a huge sound as a three-piece with little overdubbing on the guitar parts; it's the gang vocals. I mean, they are straight out of Damaged, and I can't help but giggle and try to shout "Spray paint the walls!" along with them. Don't get me wrong; I'm not making fun of them, I just haven't heard good gang vocals in a long time.

But wait, there is a catch. Some of these songs are absolute crap. Yep, I said it. Some of these songs are all melodic without any trace of hardcore. Like a whiney version of Hot Water Music; "So I don't even try / you can read the emotion in my eyes." Ughh. This band showed so much promise in other songs! Why?!?

I'll tell you why. Because I got overzealous in the beginning of this review. I praised them too early. I gave them too much credit. But hey, if melodic hardcore is your kind of thing, hit this up. I'm sure you'll cream your pants over it.