I'm going to start this one by saying that, with very few exceptions, I fuckin' hate metalcore. Has a genre ever spawned so many worthless, generic, formulaic, and uninspired bands? It's seriously riding pop-punk's ass right about now. Now, I don't always mind my hardcore with heavy metallic leanings; I can stand All Out War and Embrace Today, who at least have some unique/memorable/invigorating aspects to their sound, but god damn, is there ever a lot of horrible shit out there these days.
However, what we have here is some quality melodic metalcore that's much more Opposite of December-era Poison the Well than As I Lay Dying and other forgettables of that ilk. The Farewell Reason shows a surprising level of musical maturity for their first demo, which, at 28 minutes, could honestly be a perfectly suitable full-length had it some fancy artwork and liner notes. The songs achieve a fantastic balance between brutality and melody without sacrificing too much on either front. The melodic interludes don't feel wimpy, forced, or obligatory (which is saying a lot already), but rather serve to make the next punishing breakdown even more effective. Even with an average song length of five minutes, the dynamic songwriting never allowed me to feel bored while listening to the demo in its entirety.
Opener 'Don't Despair' is fan-fucking-tastic and easily my favorite song from the demo. The song craft feels fluid and dynamic, the melodies are infectious, and the breakdowns are brutal. The same could be said for all the other songs as well, but 'Don't Despair' is the most likely to stick with you after the fact. All in all, this is definitely worth the four clams.
