At Our Heels is a young band coming out with a strong EP last year but never getting as much recognition as that EP probably deserved. They are certainly not a hype band or even getting any real talk outside of a few vague mentions. Strangely, this does more good than bad for them. What has resulted in this case is strong short blast of hardcore bristling with fury and anger. That is not to say they stock the vague metallic hardcore sounds that seem streetwise but generally hail from the suburban wasteland. Instead this works more in the sounds that made Modern Life Is War and American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost sort of famous.
The band moves the songs along with unrelenting fury from the slow creeping buildup of the starting track leading to a sing along based climax opening track "through Their Teeth" never gives up. Each song seems to lead directly into the next without much thought for giving the listener a second to breathe. The anger is palpable within the lyrics and certainly in the delivery. The guitars are heavy but not metal and catchy but not particularly melodic. Each instrument sticks together and fits like a puzzle, neatly and orderly. The drums move along giving everything a strong backbone. Everything moves clearly to suit the songs needs. Sometimes this means that the guitars give a bit of feedback or the drums drop to a two step beat but nothing ever settles in place long enough to get boring.
This is not to say that anything that the band does is fully original they are still a hardcore band. Everything they do fits perfectly. The production is gritty but certainly clear enough for everything to come through the mix. There are a few standout songs such as, "Through Their Teeth", "Graves", and "Capture/Consume'. These songs go a long way to prove that this band is well above the normal glut of hardcore bands. When the songs slow down they only sound more powerful. That said this is a band on the rise and deserves your attention.
