Challenger is an up-and-coming five-piece band that features ex-members from both Volumes and Betrayal. Recently, they released their first EP entitled Coming Of Age for a ‘name your price’ value on Bandcamp. Instrumental-wise, the music tends to be progressive metalcore but the vocals drift toward the pop punk or post-hardcore end of the spectrum.
Coming Of Age is a mere three tracks clocking in at a total of twelve minutes. The first track, “Wolves”, is easily the strongest track on the EP. The vocals are catchy from start to finish and the entire thing is impressive instrumentally. The awesome tempo change and the overlapping vocals towards the end of the song are noteworthy moments on “Wolves”.
The next song is “Beast Of Burden”. It’s a good bit shorter than the other two songs, but it still has memorable moments in its smaller span. This track is noticeably heavier than the previous one and it is a fantastic sound for the band that they should continue to pursue on future releases. The final track “Horologist” is undoubtedly the weakest song. While it has an above average intro and the catchiest chorus, it just doesn’t hold up and quickly becomes stale. The vocals here are mediocre and overall uninteresting in comparison to the first song. While it doesn’t have quite the same impact as the other two, it is still a good song.
While Coming Of Age is good, it is very short. I assume the band just wanted to get something out to start making a name for themselves but just as you start to get into the EP, it comes to an end. I am hoping that the next release has more to offer and improves upon this release.
Links: Facebook – Bandcamp
Written in collaboration with Steven Pongrac.
