Sworn In: The Lovers/The Devil

A few moments of respite from the metalcore glut

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The metalcore corner is reaching saturation point. Barely a month goes by without at least 10 albums that sound the same as The Lovers/The Devil being released. The only way to escape being bogged down by the weight of blatant plagiarism is to craft a record chock-full of instant anthems to make you stand out from the crowd.

Swing and a miss for Sworn In, then, because there’s too much familiarity and filler here. Oliolioxinfree is obnoxiously dumb and clichéd in a way that recall Emmure at their most dislikeable, and the vocal belches that turn to whines atop the endless, synthetic-sounding guitar breakdowns are exhausting.

Quite why Sworn In didn’t concentrate their ideas into what they do on the interesting likes of Pocket Full Of Posies or Scissors is anyone’s guess. The former’s industrial, half-paced stomp adds a different dimension, as does the latter’s Killing Joke-esque wall of noise.

Cherry-pick the best tracks and it’s a great EP, otherwise it’s just an average album./o:p

Stephen Hill

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.