Location:
USA, CA

Category:
Rock / Metal

Try if you like:
All That Remains, Between The Buried And Me, Protest The Hero, Sevendust, The Faceless

This is my first exposure to The Human Abstract. Midheaven is the sophomore album for this California Rock/Metal band. They have a nice blend of melodic rock and hardcore, very reminiscent of earlier Sevendust for me. They've been compared to Protest The Hero as well, which I can sort of see but they slow things down and don't rely on their technical abilities to impress. They like to sing and invoke wonderful melodies on strong songs like "The Path". They are a little different from the typical sounds of the emo/post-hardcore genre in the fact that they are all over the map. The band has caught flack for that but I give them credit for spreading their wings. Could you imagine PTH trying out such a personal song as "A Dead World At Sunrise", with the wonderful piano lead and heartfelt lyrics? That's why I think of this band more as peers of Sevendust instead. A band that isn't afraid to do things unconventional. I'll tell you what, give the first track, "A Violent Strike" a listen and if that does nothing for you then Midheaven is definitely not for you.

Complaints? One major one...They are lacking definitive hooks. That's all I can come up with. If they managed to integrated sing along chorus's along with their great melodies then they would have even a bigger following. Regardless, I'm impressed with yet another heavier release this year. The Human Abstract are very talented and Midheaven is quite a good release, one worth seeking out if you're looking for something different.