Review / 200 Words Or Less
Heads Held High
So Say We All

Crossface (2009) Michael

Heads Held High – So Say We All cover artwork
Heads Held High – So Say We All — Crossface, 2009

So Say We All is the full-length debut from Clevelanders Heads Held High. These five gentlemen have been kicking around in the city for a few years now with a couple of self-released EP's under their belts. For their debut full-length the band has continued to belt out high-octane melodic hardcore, not exactly the norm for the city that spawned Integrity, Ringworm, and Chimaira.

So Say We All is packed with eleven cuts of melodic hardcore that draws equally from the bands of the past - Gorilla Biscuits, Lifetime - and modern titans - Bane, With Honor. Musically the band has a reliance on fast guitars, two-step parts, and lots of sing-along moments. Vocally, Heads Held High differs slight from their peers with a more coarse delivery from Elliot Frank. Honestly, his style just doesn't match the music for me - there is little to no harmony to his vocals.

This is a decent full-length effort. It's not anything special but it's not horrible. Heads Held High is just another band in passing.

6.5 / 10Michael • May 27, 2009

Heads Held High – So Say We All cover artwork
Heads Held High – So Say We All — Crossface, 2009

Related news

Fail Safe To Release Heads Held High LP

Posted in Labels on February 16, 2010

Recently-posted album reviews

Tigers Jaw

Lost on You
Hopeless (2026)

Tigers Jaw was formed in 2005 in Scranton, PA by high school friends. After a brief hiatus in 2013, the band is once again carefully crafting and delivering a sound that is equal parts upbeat angst and mellow moodiness. The current lineup, consisting of Ben Walsh (guitar, vocals), Brianna Collins (keys, vocals), Mark Lebiecki (guitar), Colin Gorman (bass), and Teddy … Read more

N.E. Vains

Running Down Pylons
Big Neck Records (2026)

N.E. Vains’ Running Down Pylons delivers that kind of glorious, basement-level destruction. You know, back in the ’70s when every basement had those flimsy swinging room-dividing doors, and your skinny 130-pound frame suddenly ripped them clean off the hinges in a fit of imagined superhuman strength? The day you went from sand-kicked weakling to full Charles Atlas mail-order muscle miracle? … Read more

Poison The Well

Peace In Place
Sharptone (2026)

There’s no way to talk about Peace In Place without acknowledging the shadow it steps out from. Poison the Well isn’t just another reunited band dusting off an old name. They’re literally architects of the genre. The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation didn’t just help define metalcore, it rewired how heaviness and vulnerability could coexist. And honestly, is … Read more