Ok, Ok, for most of the metal listening community, the name Renee Heartfelt won't exactly instil a hell of a lot of confidence. I can here the chortling now... 'Renee Heartfelt'...how freaking gay is that? And you'd be forgiven for thinking these guys are some sort of typical geeky emo-core band, big on the jangley riffs and clean overwrought vocals. Yet, incredibly it seems, there is much more to 'RH' than you'd ever expect.
Damn all preconceptions on this one folks, this is far more interesting than any run of the mill emo band. We're talking Atmospheric Guitar Rock; big swirling, spacey, shimmering guitar lines that ebb and flow with a mesmerising manner, a deep resonating bottom end and some excellent soaring vocals.
'RH' has been described as some sort of Post-Hardcore saviour and while their make-up of ex-members of Count Me Out, Give Up the Ghost and Striking Distance would suggest that that portrayal is pretty much on the mark, still, there is a progression here that defies the title. For me 'DOTG' is all about capturing a big 'Indie Rock' vibe - massive on the atmospherics (led by those simply masterful guitars) and emotively involved vocals. In this sense, RH remind me a lot of early 'Quicksand' (with the edginess smoothed out) meets latter period 'Cave In'(particularly Jupiter/Antenna) meets the compelling tender vocal moments of 'Elliot'. Throw in names like 'Failure, Hum' and hell, even 'The Cure' and you've got a damn fine piece of 'Atmospheric Guitar Rock' in tow.
Backed by a simply wondrous Matt Squire production, 'Death of the Ghost' is awash a great vibrant guitar sound - and as good as the rhythm section is and as captivating as those vocals are - it is the GUITARS on this album that are key. The song writing is also top notch - big driving mid-tempo pacing, enchanting melodies and a dynamic energy infuses everything you hear on this disc. There is possibly some merit in wishing their vocalist Pete would expand a little further on his range, yet with such compelling set of tracks to work through here, you'll be hard pressed to be disappointed in anything he does.
This may not be strictly metal - in fact your average Dimmu Borgir fan would vomit at the prospect of hearing this - but if you're a little more open minded and accepting of progression in all facets of music, 'Death of the Ghost' is one of the more surprising releases of the year.
- Krozza
(See reviewer's scoring method)
