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‘I’m SOFTWAREmark” gingersoftwareuiphraseguid=“382971c8-e8d1-4280-b9cc-ed71756346f9” id=“3ec8562e-3c72-420b-8981-dfbf76076df8”>living all my dreams!’ screams Eden To Exile’s vocalist Matt Dyne on Modern Disdain’s closing track. But this UK five-piece’s debut full-length is only a dream in the mind of someone who’s never heard Bleed From Within. It’s cookie-cutter groove metal with dashes of melodeath less in keeping with In Flames’ best and more Shadows Falls’ gutter. Occasionally a song like The Dreamer will venture near The Black Dahlia Murder’s more highbrow material, but never enough to make a proper impression. Matt’s strongman delivery is the record’s seller, appropriating a Randy Blythe snarl and going all Jamey Jasta with it: ‘One moment is all it takes to make a change!’ and so on. There’s some chunky beatdowns and commendable dexterity bubbling through Gospel Untold’s percussive undercurrent, but this is just another formulaic metal record. Given 2017’s morphing metal landscape and the exceeding quality it’s pumping out, From Eden To Exile will need to up their game.

Alec is a longtime contributor with first-class BA Honours in English with Creative Writing, and has worked for Metal Hammer since 2014. Over the years, he's written for Noisey, Stereoboard, uDiscoverMusic, and the good ship Hammer, interviewing major bands like Slipknot, Rammstein, and Tenacious D (plus some black metal bands your cool uncle might know). He's read Ulysses thrice, and it got worse each time.