After The Avalanche is a band of great promise within the Upstate New York metal scene. The Watertown based 5 piece is definitely on 
the right path. In the demand of honesty, I will tell you that there are a couple of conflicting issues that I have with the demo I was asked to touch on. Some points are good, and some are bad. However, all of the points I will talk about, are meant more for constructive balance. Don’t be confused though, because this band has much to offer.
From a musical standpoint, After The Avalanche has it going on. They are technically astounding, and play with a very focused progressive nature. They are lumped into that whole metal core label because quite frankly, it may be the best and most definitive way to describe what they are doing. On tracks like “Codename More Cowbell” and “Calendars”, you can feel the melodic presence that After The Avalanche is perfecting on an extremely high level. On those same songs, however, you can also see the very reason why it is getting difficult to tell some metal core bands from each other. Someone alerted to me to the breakdown prowess of the band. Although the band does this quite well, it is a formula of generic repetition that is being overused to the hilt. The start and stop drum heavy interludes that are aided with screams of anger, are becoming quite overblown. Don’t get me wrong, this band does it better than most. I just feel that the approach in itself is going to end up hindering the progress of bands that are ultimately better on many levels. This is not just an issue with this band, it is the genre in general.
Outside of my issue with the breakdowns and the abundance of indecipherable dialogue, the band is a top notch example of unlimited potential. They are branching out, and pushing their wares on the scene quite well. I look forward to the next studio based piece that they will bring forward.
For more information-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/After-The-Avalanche/201207729913338
-Erik Jense
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