Continents from South Wales, UK are a Moshcore band that formed in 2010. Their self released video for “Trials” was released in 2011 and propelled them to the top of the UK hardcore scene sharing the stage with such bands as Emmure and Comeback kid. “Idle Hands” is their debut album on Victory Records.
This album starts out like all too many of these heavy hardcore albums start, a really big, epic sounding buildup into an even bigger, fast paced breakdown. These guys are not breaking any ground with this album but I can understand the appeal. This sounds like every heavy Victory release of the past few years. Drop tuned guitars run through this entire album at generic intervals with chants to string along disaffected youth with. Bury Your Dead did pretty much the same album ten years ago and even then it wasn’t astonishing. The one thing Continents have added to that moshcore medley is a little bit of clean singing but let’s be honest in saying this is no breath of fresh air either. Now, without going any deeper on this, I will say that the album is catchy and for serious fans of the genre, I’m sure this will be another hit. The recording is of good quality and everyone is completely adequate at their instruments. The vocalist has good range and is consistent. The best compliment I can give these guys is that they know who they are playing for and what those people want to hear. They will sell more merch and sell out more shows than many bands these days and at the end of the day, they can be very proud about what they’ve put down.
This album is exactly what you expect it to be, no more, no less. If you’re looking for a fresh take on hardcore or a technical album written by true musicians then this is not for you. However, any fans of this subgenre (i.e. Emmure, For Today, The Ghost Inside) will definitely enjoy this album.
