The metalcore corner is reaching saturation point. Barely a month goes by without at least 10 albums that sound the same as The Lovers/The Devil being released. The only way to escape being bogged down by the weight of blatant plagiarism is to craft a record chock-full of instant anthems to make you stand out from the crowd.
Swing and a miss for Sworn In, then, because there’s too much familiarity and filler here. Oliolioxinfree is obnoxiously dumb and clichéd in a way that recall Emmure at their most dislikeable, and the vocal belches that turn to whines atop the endless, synthetic-sounding guitar breakdowns are exhausting.
Quite why Sworn In didn’t concentrate their ideas into what they do on the interesting likes of Pocket Full Of Posies or Scissors is anyone’s guess. The former’s industrial, half-paced stomp adds a different dimension, as does the latter’s Killing Joke-esque wall of noise.
Cherry-pick the best tracks and it’s a great EP, otherwise it’s just an average album./o:p
