I once encountered The End at a show in Holland (which they headlined, supported by Transmission0) and I was ‘entertained’ to say the least. Back then they seemed to be heading in the direction of The Dillinger Escape Plan, which is nice. Let’s see how their latest effort Elementary sounds like.

Surprisingly gentile if you ask me. After hearing this record for the first couple of times I went down to the record store and checked out their previous release Within Dividia, with which I fell in love instantly. The difference between the two records lies in its extremities; while the previous one is far more intense, hectic and chaotic, this new one shows a milder gentile side, with more attention for melody instead of brutality. Don’t get me wrong, there still are some heavier parts and even blastbeats, but not in abundance like before.

 

The End basically took a more songwriting approach towards hardcore/mathcore adding various elements of emo which is clearly noticeable in the vocals. I think there is more singing involved here than screaming, which used to be the other way around. Also I sense more of a Tool vibe throughout the album, more attention for the songs itself and extensive build-ups towards anti-climaxes and brutal eruptions. Especially the first song, ‘Dangerous’, has a huge build-up in it. Postcore is also definitely a genre that is made use of way more than before, calm soundscapes like the track ‘A Fell Wind’ is a good example of that.

 

How to conclude this story is the question I face. Personally I dig Within Dividia a whole lot more, simply because I prefer their sound of brutality over their newfound melodic approach. I think people that haven’t heard of this band before and like the styles described above will certainly like this record, but I think the old fans will be a bit disappointed. It’s hard to tell actually, so go find out for yourself!