It’s the start of 2013, the musical landscape is already being swamped with some really solid releases, yet this isn’t complete without the mediocre and the god awful. One such band who comes under the mediocre category is Ohio metalcore stalwarts The Plot In You, who return with their second full length ‘Could You Watch Your Children Burn’. Armed with a new guitarist in the form of Derrick Sechrist (formerly of A Bullet For Pretty Boy), it appears the band are prepared to pounce on the musical drones, but with average results.
Spewing words drenched in utter disgust of humanity and reflections of one’s personal faults, The Plot In You forward such topics across with a nu-metal influenced rhythm in their heavy guitars on songs like ‘Population Control’ and ‘Premeditated’, and the toing and throwing of grief stricken screams to clean catchy melodic choruses, the latter being the only thing which can hook you into what can only be described as formulaic blueprints. The band do attempt to keep things varied with an electronic sample in the opening of ‘Bible Butcher’ and a commercial sounding melodic scream free ode in the form of ‘Glad You’re Gone’ but it just leaves you with the unimpressed facial expression of Ron Swanson.
Not only does the attempt to keep things interesting with a varied sound fall flat, but also the varied mood and atmosphere displayed in the songs, whether it’s melancholy, anger or an aura of eeriness, then just feel so clichéd that the impact is like a jackhammer which infact has the impact of a feathered pillow case.
In summary, The Plot in You certainly has the hooky choruses that could spark a wave of interest in the next 12 months, but overall the building blocks just feel like a clichéd and predictable Jenga tower waiting to fall down after much prodding with the individual pieces.
2/5
‘Could You Watch Your Children Burn’ by The Plot In You is out now on Rise Records.
The Plot In You links: Facebook|Twitter
Words by Aaron Lohan (@ooran_loohan)
