Posted on: June 26, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Strength Behind Tears – Bridges Between Us / 2007 Basement / 10 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/sbt /

Strength Behind Tears is a band that I have never heard before conducting this review, but apparently they have went on a national tour and have played with acts like Scars of Tomorrow, Undying, If Hope Dies, and As Hope Dies. “November Tenth” is the opening track on the disc, and it shows Strength Behind Tears as an act that fits in well to the current conception of hardcore. That means that metal along the veins of Coal Chamber and early Deftones mix with more classical metal and death metal to make something newer and more vibrant.

The band struggles to create their own sound during the early tracks of “Bridges Between Us”. The band thing, and this is really out of Strength Behind Tears’ control, is that there are so many other bands doing similar things in this genre. “Rise Up” is a little slower of a track, but the only thing that the track can be said to have done for the act is to insert a little bit of emo arrangements to the mix. This track is much more marketable than the opening salvo, but the band still is struggling by this point in the disc to come up with something that individuals have yet to hear.

The act has a number of years and albums to craft their own sound, and while the tracks on “Bridges Between Us” are not weak structurally, the band needs to create a sound that is more expressive to who they are as individuals. To their benefit, the tracks on “Bridges Between Us” all contribute to an overall sound that is present throughout the entirety of the disc; one can hear similar threads in “In The Beginning” as they do during “Decisions Made”. Still, a number of acts are all trying to craft the same general style, and it will take a Herculean effort by Strength Behind Tears to make themselves known in this over-stuffed genre. The talent that is shown on “Bridges Between Us” is enough to allow the band to do that, but the act does not show movement towards that on this album. Check this disc out and then pick up their next album to see how Strength Behind Tears have evolved in the period between then. I have no doubt in my mind that listeners will be pleasantly surprised at the talent shown by the band.

Top Tracks: Decisions Made, Rise Up

Rating: 5.0/10

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