Core music appears to be taking a hike in our current day and age. Much of it is repetitive riffs, monotonous screams that are symbolically reminiscent of modern-day mumble rap, and lyrics that make little to no sense. But in spite of the continuous barrage of similar music being released and promoted by the year, some bands manage to pull through with content that is original, tasteful and light on the ears. Heart of Jordan is no exception.
Formed together in Michigan earlier last year, Heart of Jordan is a strong five-piece group of rockers releasing their self-titled debut in less than a week, ready to enter the wave and make a name for themselves. Inspired by a mixture of hard rock legends and heavy metal titles, new and old alike, the debut is an interesting mixture of tracks that are both complex and simple.
With lyrics spanning from the agony of heartbreak, internal conflict and the throes of rage and anger long forgotten, an essence of substantial writing is evident in their music thus far. However, their songs range from the uniquely relatable to the straightforward, everyday mosh scene. I noted a splash of original sound among plenty of inevitably familiar tracks that every metal-core band happens to carry in their back pocket. The band definitely inclines less towards hard rock as they do towards the core scene, and this is obvious in their well-balanced ratio of scream to singing throughout.
With most genres of metal and rock being served to a highly subjective (and a picky) audience, it can be hard to tell quality apart. Their instrumentals are, suffice it to say, highly enjoyable in my opinion. Tough, angsty and pulled together cohesively, their tracks are diverse lyrically and in sound. Personally, I found much of the screaming to be incoherent and less enjoyable compared to original metal-core, but this could possibly be due to the concept being overdone by a majority of entry-level bands of the age. Some of their tracks, like the rather monotonous “Enslaved”, carried a generic melody. Others, however, like “Shade” and “No Escape”, were captivating and lyrically stable, definitely favorites off the album.
The music video for “Deny” by Heart Of Jordan was released last month.
In a short timeframe, the band had successfully gotten themselves a tour, and a debut coming out altogether. Their hard-work in its initial stages is evident, with hopefully more to come. The album comes out on the 21st of September next week, and for anyone who enjoys the metal-core scene, this one is worth a listen.
