This debut EP from Canberra five piece djent outfit sits rather comfortably between Periphery and TesseracT in the heavy metal filing system. Having said that, there’s nothing inherently wrong with slotting your band into that pigeon hole but this five track debut EP hasn’t highlighted what makes Whitefall stand out from the ever growing djent pack.
Whitefall keep it all relatively heavy and at times pretty groovy, they mix up their riffs and rhythms and the heavy vocals sound pretty good. But, everything is just sufficient here, there’s nothing here with the power to grab you by your head and weave through your brain whilst pounding your skull at the same time. ‘Casualty’ is the best track from the EP that exemplifies Whitefall’s musical muscle and stretch, and it features guest vocals from the singer in TesseracT. ‘Dreamweaver’ is the band’s more straight up crunching track and the the intro ‘Serenity’ shows off the band’s lighter side.
For a debut EP, Origins is as a sufficient debut as any, but its the musical direction the band takes from here that will determine their position on the rather crowded metal ladder.
Independent
Reviewed by Paul S Taylor