Beloved

Item: The Running
Author: Wes Hoffman

The Running

(2001)

Reviewed by Wes Hoffman

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Label Solid State RecordsDecapolisJuly 2002

metalcore post-hardcore

Beloved is a five-piece quintet from North Carolina. "The Running EP" is their first release on Solid State Records.

As the world of "emo" seems to creep higher and higher up the scale of popularity in music today, many bands seem to be going softer. On Beloved's "The Running EP" you can obviously tell that they are not totally conforming to the world of emo, but yet staying true to hardcore roots. The five-song EP opens up with a driving rhythm and melodic vocal melody on "Kiss It Goodbye." The guitar work is heavy and rather impressive. Then some passionate hardcore screams come into play as a second vocalist cries out for "freedom" behind the melodic singer. The transitions from a nice melodic sound to a hardcore chaos are unpredictable, but rather impressive.

The lyrics on track three entitled "Going Through the Motions" are crying out to Christ begging Him to restart the fire in his heart. The vocals seem worshipful, but yet intense, and the dynamics of going from a heavy pounding guitars to clean channel bliss shows a lot of versatility in this band. On "Before There Was You, There Was Everything," Beloved shows that they can also write a poppy sing along song with lots of harmony, but they still stay true to hardcore, by jumping into the heavy pounding drums and rhythms towards the middle and end of the tune. The final track "The Aftermath," almost seems like a battle between two vocalists, one screaming and one singing. The music gives the same feel as well, switching from hardcore rhythms to melodic parts off and on.

Overall, this EP was very impressive and lyrical content was exceptionally decent. If you're not into hardcore music, there's barely enough on this cd that you can endure to get through to the melodic parts and if you're into hardcore, there's just enough so you'll be headbanging by the end. There's also a lot of sing along phrases and choruses that can appeal to many different people that are into different genres. Instead of following the "emo" trend, Beloved seems to have found their niche by sticking with some hardcore tendencies. A wise purchase, if you haven't already picked it up.