Reviews

The press sheet that arrived with It Prevails’ debut release, The Inspiration, states that it’s for fans of Hatebreed, Shai Hulud, and Bury Your Dead. I don’t know about Hatebreed and Bury Your Dead, but It Prevails definitely reminds me of Shai Hulud, as well as Ferret act Misery Signals. When the first guitar strains of the opening track, “Explanation: Content,” hit my ears in all their distorted and melodic glory, I was immediately transported back to the first time I heard Hulud’s That Within Blood Ill-Tempered and Misery Signals’ Of Malice and the Magnum Heart. There are few bands that have been able to package hardcore, metal, and melody into one sound and still exert intense amounts of emotion. Hulud was always able to do it and so can the Misery Signals boys. It Prevails accomplishes the difficult feat as well.
 
There are a few key elements to making music like this; a fantastic vocalist with a passionate and steady delivery and, also, excellent guitar players who are able to color in the black and white skeletons of each song. The Portland, OR upstarts have both of these as well as a solid rhythm section. All of this combines to create and emotive and instantly moving sound that strikes at the heart of the listener. Vocalist Ian Fike is a presence to be reckoned with, even on record, and that is no easy task. The thing about Misery Signals and Shai Hulud is that they are able to be as intense on record as they are live. It Prevails have been able to lay down their epic sound on The Inspiration (thanks in no small part to the excellent production brought to the table by Kris Crummett). For a great example of this record’s power, look no further than the 2:45 mark of fourth track, “Thirst For a Better End.” A crushing breakdown is accompanied by a high pitched, melodic guitar line and the shouts of Fike proclaiming, “I cannot walk alone.” It sounds cheesy, sure, but not when it’s done with passion and conviction, the cornerstones of pulling off this type of release.
 
The lyrics on this album deal mainly with believing in yourself and your friends. Track seven, “An Anomaly,” begins with another breakdown, over which Fike shouts, “I am the chosen one. And with this voice I can compose, a new sound, an anomaly. I want to see words fall from this pen onto these lines. I want to see me and my friends rise above in these crucial times.” Again, it doesn’t seem like much written down, but everyone knows that oftentimes in hardcore or metal, it’s how you present your words that dictates their influence…and Fike displays a faith in his words and voice that makes me believe that it really does mean everything to him.
 
I was really shocked by this album. I received it well before the street date and kept putting off listening to it for one reason or another. But when I did finally pop it in, what I found was a fucking gem of a record and one hell of a debut. It’s my policy to never give out a perfect rating to debut records because it just doesn’t leave the artist anywhere to go. Hopefully, It Prevails is able to equal or top themselves on future releases.
 
There is really only one misstep on this recording and that is the odd inclusion of instrumental track six, “To Fail.” The song has a low-fi sound to it that leads you to believe that at some point, the sound is going to explode into the song but it never does, just fading out and stopping after fifty-one seconds. Other than this small issue, this is a great record and if you like Shai Hulud’s last full-length or dig the brutal beauty of Misery Signals, I would enthusiastically recommend picking this release up; you will not be disappointed.