Have you been looking for something new since Gideon’s Milestone or Hundredth’s Let Go? I present to you Set Free, a four piece melodic hardcore band currently signed to Eulogy Recordings. Set Free is looking forward to releasing their debut self-titled album on September 11th, 2012 and it is not something that you should sleep on.
Upon starting the first track I noticed two things. First off, the instrumentation is strikingly similar to Saints Never Surrender/Continuance and Final Fight. The positive sounding guitar riffs really hit home with me and caught my attention. Fortunately, it kept my attention throughout the entire album. The fast drumming also made sure I was not distracted as my heartbeat tried to imitate what I was hearing in an adrenaline rush.
The second thing I realized was how much the vocals sound like Chad Johnson of Hundredth. The passionate yelling and positive lyrics both scream Hundredth (pun intended). The lyrics are not only positive, but also have a Christian tone to them. If this is not your thing, know that it isn’t as blatant and in your face as For Today but is still quite noticeable.
One thing that differs from both of those bands, however, are the use of clean vocals throughout the album. I don’t know of very many hardcore bands that implement clean vocals in their music and actually do it well, but Set Free is one of the few. A great track that showcases these clean vocals is “Go” where the chorus is guaranteed to get stuck in your head.
What really makes this album worth listening to are the tracks such as “Go” or “Strung Out”. These tracks can go from a steady melody to fast punk-ish rock without batting an eye. Those two tracks are the ones you need to check out and are the highlights of the album for me.
In case you missed it the first time, if you are a fan of Hundredth or Continuance, this is a must listen. Every single song is great and there is plenty of potential behind this band. Don’t miss their self-titled release coming out on September 11th.
