Album Review

Climates – Body Clocks

• 13th Oct 2014

Small Town Records have been smashing it this year, snapping-up all of the rising talent in the hardcore scene. This time their targets were Lincoln-based quintet Climates.

After a heavy touring schedule, more recently with the acclaimed Beartooth, the band has quickly built up an ever-growing devoted fan base and it’s not hard to see why. Their sound mainly stays true to what you’d expect from their fellow Small Town roster; however drawing influences from post-hardcore, progressive rock, metal and metal-core, they’ve managed to merge a multitude of genres to create a mostly-unique sound, which makes them instantly recognisable.

For a debut, Body Clocks is pretty adventurous. On face value it follows the standard metal-core structure of “scream, clean, scream, clean” which can get a little tiresome after ten full length tracks, despite his clear vocal talent and range (we’ve heard this all before, let’s not lie); but the little additions of math-metal rhythms and progressive atmospherics pack enough punch to keep your attention. Particular stand-outs are riff-ridden ‘Serpants From The Shadowland’, melody-infused ‘Leaves Of Legacy’ (which is a brilliant choice of opener) and hardcore-anthem ‘Cryptic’.

The band’s visible ambition continuously fills the record with aggression, drive and energy which makes it more enticing but somehow it still develops into a relatively predictable record – perhaps due to the fact their style doesn’t translate well to an album of this length?

Either way, for a debut, it’s highly enjoyable overall and their genre innovation will make them a particular interesting band to follow. They’ve proven that they’re one of the most talented, ambitious and brave bands of their breed so it’s time for them to make the next step on their follow-up release before they can be judged to their true capabilities.

– Mercedes Brown

Venue: Body Clocks
Support Band: Small Town Records