Are you a fan of unrelenting passion and emotion in your music? Do you like melodic hardcore or punk? Do you appreciate bands even more when they are a DIY (do it yourself) band? If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, you’re in for quite the treat.I present to you “Traveler”, a melodic hardcore/punk band, hailing from Cleveland, Ohio. In the summer of 2011, Traveler released a 4-track EP/demo titled “Going Home”. While the material on Going Home was nothing ground-breaking, they showed a lot of potential and they managed to catch my attention because of one main aspect. Passion.
After several delays and months of anxiously waiting to release their second EP, Traveler has finally done so by posting their newest release on Bandcamp as a free download. The words “free download” should have already enticed you enough to download it, but if not, I will provide you with a few more reasons as to why you should take advantage of this opportunity.
“Nothing Lasts Long Enough” is a very short EP, clocking in at just under 10 minutes, but it packs quite the punch. “Traveler / Intro” starts off the EP with a slow-paced melodic instrumental that is very reminiscent of It Prevails. The track starts to pick up near the end and the transition to the second track “Waking Up” is flawless. Aside from the first half of “Traveler / Intro”, the EP is fairly upbeat and the pace is set early on in “Waking Up”. When the vocals in “Waking Up” came in, I immediately noticed a slight change in the vocals. They are exuded with overwhelming passion and heart (similar to the way they were on “Going Home”), but they seem to have improved a little bit.The third track, Living Now, is probably the strongest on the EP. The vocals, both lead and backing, are executed extremely well on this track, the drumming is impressive, and the guitar leads are melodic and catchy. There is a slow 2-step part near the middle of this track, but the upbeat pace makes a swift but temporary return to finish “Living Now”. The next two tracks are the title track, “Nothing Lasts Long Enough”, and “Hide”. The former is a slower-paced song, while the latter is another upbeat song. Both of these tracks feature more good leads and passionate vocals. Although “Living Now” is the strongest track on the EP, “Hide” is my favourite track instrumentally, mainly because of the way that the EP comes to a close with a very calming outro.I only noticed one flaw with this EP and that is the fact that it is very short and it’s play value may not be as high for some people because there is not a lot of material. With that being said, personally, I think that I’ll be seen listening to this EP several more times. 
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