Melodic/ Metalcore outfit Contra., founded in 2013, hailing from Chicago, Illinois have released their second EP entitled Inertia. For fans of classic hardcore acts such as Underoath, We Came As Romans, Attack Attack!, and August Burns Red. This group is one that will satisfy your needs if you crave melody-heavy choruses, crushing breakdowns, and all-around astounding musicianship!
As the opening track "Tundra" unfolds we are greeted with heavy guitar chugging laid atop ambient electronic flutters, delivered head-first into Kevin’s wrathful vocals. This track truly embodies the sheer crushing power of Contra..With devastating early Post-Hardcore aspects over melodic choruses, this band showcases the true undying beauty of metalcore.
Track number 2, "Ex-Mortis", starts up with a beautiful symphony of clean guitar riffs and delicate sounds, comparable to that of some of Erra’s work. Clean vocals open the track with heavy palm-muting at a pleasant feeling cadence. The interesting thing about Contra. is their ability to utilize multiple aspects of Metalcore, while maintaining their signature sounding tone that makes up who they are.
"Pages", track number 3, opens with an almost apocalyptic sounding intro that launches into a beautifully chaotic verse accompanied by Kevin’s demolishing vocals and crushing instrumentals by Ulysses, Frank, and Brent. This track is especially reminiscent of early Post-Hardcore acts such as August Burns Red or We Came As Romans in terms of their utilization of both clean/ unclean vocals and melodic instrumentalization. As the chorus kicks in you can’t help but feel as if you are listening to Underoath or a band alike. This is truly a track that stands tall on Inertia.
Another great example of the pure chromaticism that makes Contra. who they are is track 4, "Bring Back the Moon". As the track opens the listener is catapulted into instrumentals. With the song throwing the listener left and right, this is truly one of the harder-hitting tracks on the album, but it still maintains their incomparably melodic/catchy choruses. With beautiful keyboards sprinkled here and there, this track will surely be one of your favorites.
Number 5 on this list, album-titled track "Inertia", delivers everything you could dream for from a hardcore band like Contra.. This one does well to showcase the rampageous efforts of drummer Brent. So much so, that you think in your head, “This drummer’s feet and calves must be made of steel!” At a break-neck pace, you can feel the thunderous blasts in your chest! Being one of the more aggressive tracks on the album, this track could easily appeal to fans of more hardcore acts, such as Architects. This intro does well to distract you, only to grab you by the throat and chuck you into the fire of the punishingly heavy breakdown that follows. By the end of the song you still can’t comprehend what happened as the guitars ring out, leading to Inertia’s finale.
Track number 7, Last, but certainly not least, is "Pariah Carey". As one of the more progressive songs on the album, this track opens with a searing drum solo, followed by relentless blast beats outfitted by classic Metalcore-esque guitar work. A beautiful showcasing of the efforts of Pianist Sasha. A soft verse led by reverb-heavy piano work reminds the listener just how musically-able Contra. truly is. This song is a fitting finale to this stunning album.
Inertia EP available everywhere 9.21.18
