Palisades
Mind Games
Reviewed by: Jordy Lyric
Palisades’ new record, Mind Games, opens on a sweet electronic riff that may mislead those who don’t know about the band’s unique blend of metalcore and EDM music. It doesn’t take long for the breakdowns to begin and the harsh vocals to come in. With pop-type vocal hooks interrupting the screams and hard instrumentals accompanying electric elements, the album is certainly a mixture rather than a compromise. This dynamic sees its way through the entire full length, offering a talented display of both clean and unclean vocals and mosh-worthy breakdowns while still maintaining the electronic element and its sweeping, dance-able production in all its strength and glory. Track “Bad Girls” reminisces a Q102-worthy rap super hit, but breaks this with Palisades’ instrumentation and vocal hooks. The pop music influences continue to couple strangely well with the metalcore instrumentation throughout the album. It’s like an EDM remix of a hardcore album, and although that can be difficult to imagine, it works, and it works well.
Altogether, the album is interesting, thoughtful in terms of production, and catchy, but still sort of pit-worthy at times. It’s something to try for yourself, for sure.
Rating: Listenable
