Album Review: In Search Of Sun - The World Is Yours

Metalcore has always been a bit of a shotgun wedding. There was no reason that screamed verses and cleanly sung choruses were supposed to be put together, not to mention becoming the blueprint for an entire genre of music. Very few of the metalcore bands have ever been able to make a compelling case for why their music isn't the musical equivalent of the TV show “Chopped”, with random ingredients thrown together for the sake of seeing what could be made of them. So when a metalcore band begins to shift away from the template, and grow beyond the boundaries of that narrow focus, the results are always interesting, which is more than can be said for most metalcore.

In Search Of Sun is the new name of Driven, a band that is no longer constrained by the tropes of metalcore. Instead, they use their debut album as a jumping off point, wherein they can spread their wings and try to make music that speaks more broadly about the human condition. That is probably a bit more overwrought than the album intends, but let's move on.

The title track wastes little time in doing the unexpected, opening with a riff that is out of place for any variety of metal. It's the sort of riff, to date myself as an old man, that I would have expected to hear on the first Franz Ferdinand record. I don't mean that as an insult in any way, as it's actually precisely the kind of twist a band like this needs to take. It introduces a new attitude, and a new melodic focus, that I very much appreciate. When the vocals do come in, they do so with less aggression, a shouted rasp that still has enough melody in it to be appealing to people who aren't allergic to harsh singing.

“Give In” is a more aggressive track, with a coarser vocal running through the verses, but the chorus kicks in with plenty of melody, and the softening the comes in right before the bridge does a great job of keeping the song from becoming a wall of noise. Two tracks in, In Search Of Sun has already made a case for themselves with a pair of heavy, melodic, rock solid tracks.

“51 56” alters the formula, including a guitar solo, and an instrumental outro that brings an ambient feeling into the rock/metal motif. Ambient sounds and metal have been increasingly cohabiting, with bands like Anathema and Katatonia moving steadily in the softer direction. There aren't many times where the two sounds work well together, but In Search Of Sun has managed to do that. The track that shares the band's name does a skillful job of balancing the crunchy guitars with a more ambient feeling, giving the song an airiness that makes it far more interesting than another straight-ahead rock song.

In fact, the guitar tone used throughout the record helps with that feeling. They pull back on the distortion, using a cleaner sound to highlight the notes and riffs being played. There's more than enough crunch to remind you that you're listening to a heavy record, but the sound is clean enough that it never falls apart into a fuzz of mushy noise. That decision was a masterstroke, as the combination of guitar tone and melodic singing highlights the strengths of these songs.

I wouldn't call “The World Is Yours” a great album, but it's absolutely a record that's worth giving a chance. They have broken free of metalcore and found the next step in the evolutionary ladder. This record balances heft, melody, and ambient textures in a way that makes them fit together naturally. That's a rare skill, and if this record is the first step in this direction, In Search Of Sun has a bright future ahead of them.

Chris C

Music Reviewer

Chris is a professional intellectual. He graciously shares his deep thoughts on the world of music with the world. You're welcome.