Out of Dayton/Cincinnati, Ohio comes a band that is beginning to cut their teeth in the world of metalcore/djent music, and that band is Above A Whisper. I mean this band is fresh out of the oven, “get the baby powder out” brand spanking new band! Jason Eilers reached out to me and asked us to review Above A Whisper’s single “Never Let Go”, and so we did! First, let’s get to know the band first.
Above A Whisper is a six-piece metal band out of Dayton/Cincinnati, Ohio and they incorporate djent, prog, and metalcore into their brand of metal. They literally formed this past summer and are ready to show Ohio and beyond how they get down. According to Jason, their goals are to release more material in early 2019 and play shows in the tri-state area.
In regards to the single, “Never Let Go” hits heavy but has a positive twist on it from a lyrical standpoint. It’s a pretty common theme in terms of this genre as the song seems to talk about persevering through the challenges of life and always hanging onto hope instead of letting go of hope. I really enjoyed the guitar solo at the bridge of the song and the clean vocals. I am being lenient on the production value of the song, simply because Above A Whisper is literally cutting their teeth, but there were parts of the song where I wanted to hear more power from the clean vocals and that guitar solo, I wanted it to be longer cause I was really getting into it and it transitioned to the next part of the song too quickly for me. I’m a sucker for guitar solos by the way.
Some of the solid points of the track were the breakdowns that were hardcore dancing inducing and that allowed them to showcase the ability to switch between the transitions and progressions of the song. From a constructive criticism standpoint, I felt that the chaotic screaming around the second verse took away from the song instead of adding to the song, and I wanted to hear more harmonics in the guitar work. I mean, it’s not a critique on the screaming itself, I want to hear it when it’s a necessary element in the song and I felt that it somewhat disrupted the flow of the song. However, the rhythm section certainly shone throughout the song allowing Above A Whisper to keep pace and showcasing their potential to grow as a band. I am taking into account that this band is cutting their teeth, and I feel that they will mature into their songwriting. I’m giving the single “Never Let Go” a 7 out of 10 stars because in due time this band will find their identity and take Ohio and beyond by storm. The potential is there with Above A Whisper, check them out!
Check out the single via Spotify below!
Fans can find Above A Whisper at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/aboveawhisperofficial
