In early 2011, Adaliah burst onto the scene with the release of their debut EP entitled Rituals. The six-piece metalcore/hardcore band from Bradenton, Flda., steadily gained a respectable following and, by the end of 2011, were signed to the sub-label of Mediaskare Records, Rite of Passage Records.
If you are unaware, Adaliah has two front-men. They carry the load of vocals quite evenly and they compliment each other very well. The vocalists display the lyrical theme on Broken Families of a damaged home life often and well. Broken Families is an adventurous story, to say the least, and it entertains you with its massive breakdowns and spectacular guitar melodies along with the aforementioned storyline.
On Broken Families, you will hear two different styles of metalcore: one with lots of melodic and upbeat parts and one that is very chug-oriented. “Jumper,” “The Brightest Eyes,” “Pride and Joy,” “Shallow Heart,” “Harbors” and the instrumental closing track titled “Set Free” are primarily based on melody and upbeat verses, while on “Hollows” and “Devil,” Adaliah relies more on breakdowns or chugging and being as heavy as they possibly can. The remaining four tracks (“Imbalance,” “Wasted Efforts,” “Muse” and “Snake”) are in the middle of these ‘melodic’ and ‘heavy’ groupings. These songs have some good breakdowns and some good guitar leads, but they don’t rely on either of the aspects more than the other.
The stand-out tracks on Broken Families are “The Brightest Eyes,” “Pride and Joy” and “Shallow Heart.” “The Brightest Eyes” starts off with some nice riffs and a bit of melody, but it gets even more melodic as the song progresses. Lyrically, it is a very meaningful song, and one of my favourite lyrics can be heard on it: “I never knew much about family/Mom and dad never got along/Brother and sister died before they knew my name.”
A few tracks later, we come to one of the strongest songs on the album, “Pride and Joy.” Similar to “The Brightest Eyes,” “Pride and Joy” opens up with a lot of melody. While “The Brightest Eyes” is fast-paced from the get-go, “Pride and Joy” doesn’t really pick up the pace until it nears the middle of the song; however, when it eventually reaches that point, it is one of the best parts on the album.
My personal favourite is the tenth track, “Shallow Heart.” Whether it be personal or family-related, I have never dealt with any addiction problems, but I know that there are many people who have. Those people will easily be able to relate to the lyrics “The drugs are starting to tear him apart/His mind is racing/He hears the beat of his heart/He walked alone with his lit cigarette through the alleys filled with scum and regret, and all he wants is his family back – to get his fucked up life on the right track.” On top of being relatable, “Shallow Heart” is probably the most beautiful song on Broken Families.
After my first listen, I was already stunned and in love. After I played this album several more times, I began to like it even more with each listen. I had very high expectations for this album and Adaliah exceeded them. Without a doubt, Broken Families is one of the heaviest metalcore albums that I have come across so far. It’s chock full of breakdowns and chugging, but there is also a very good mix of melodic segments which makes this a must-have album for every fan of “core” music. I especially urge you to check this album out if you are someone who enjoys heavier metalcore/hardcore.
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For Fans Of: Destruction of a King, For the Fallen Dreams, Gideon
