
Nature’s call
-- Mark My Way --
09/04/2020
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Melodic hardcore |
■ | Rapcore |
Album artists:
■ | Lennart Breine | Vocals |
■ | Niek Van de Capelle | Guitar |
■ | Lennert De Clercq | Guitar |
■ | Rutger Vermeulen | Bass |
■ | Gillian Coussens | Drums |
Review written by Stijn “Metal Shredder” Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
A week ago
Mark My Way’s guitarist Lennert invited me for a preview of his band’s upcoming
album “Thin the Herd.” Although hardcore isn’t my favorite music genre, the
band’s music video for the single “Spread Too Thin” left a very solid
impression on me so I’ve now decided to shred this album prematurely!
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Thin the
Herd” is the debut album for the Ypres-based metallic hardcore act Mark My Way
who formed in 2012 and released 3 EPs before coming up with this full-length.
The album is released through Dust & Bones Records, Genet Records and Kick
Out The Jams. The album begins with the aforementioned single “Spread
Too Thin” and I immediately noticed the band’s sense of melody thanks to the
ambient introduction and the song’s beautiful ending guitar solo. The typical
shouts and grunts do provide the necessary hardcore vibes along with some
grinding riffs during those vocal parts.
That same
vibe, albeit slower and less powerful, returns in the album’s second track, “Justification.”
Fortunately, the band’s melodic side returns in “Higher Walls.” A song that,
like “Spread too Thin” before it, is a beautiful mix of solid hardcore beats
and vocals with melodic interludes, particularly in the song’s ending wherein a
lengthy guitar solo jams alongside a crunchy breakdown. “Overlooked” is another
two-faced beast of a track that starts off with catchy guitars before
transitioning into a series of roaring breakdowns and finally another sweet
dual guitar solo.
The album’s
fifth track, “Vae Victis,” goes full-on hardcore while its subsequent track, “Perdition”
goes the other way with a gentle, acoustic guitar cool down. “At The Gates” is a
darker tune with a moody opening and followed up with galloping beats and
shrieking vocals. “Nothing but Sacrifice” is a badass track with a tandem of
hardcore and rap vocals. “Regicide” is a short grinder tune with a marching
main riff, classic hardcore shouts and a pounding breakdown and finally “Flux”
provides some beautiful, meditative piano to wrap up this excellent metallic adventure.
[SHREDDING VISION]
“Thin the
Herd’s” cover art features some animal skull (with some weird glass-like optical
on top of its eye) in a dried-out piece of land surrounded by dead black leaves
and flourishing red flowers. First off, I find the cover art to be quite
original for a hardcore release (I associate this cover art more with desert
rock) and aside from that, it’s a striking visual metaphor for nature itself. Nature
is beautiful, but also merciless. Full of life, but also of death.
[SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
My top
picks go to the tracks “Spread too Thin” and “Higher Walls” since both tracks
strike the best balance between the guitar-driven melody and the usual hardcore
rage. I also enjoyed the grim atmosphere of “At The Gates” and the rap vocal
delivery on “Nothing but Sacrifice.”
Personally
I consider the songs “Justification” and “Vae Victis” to be the weakest tracks on
the album. Both songs felt too much like generic hardcore without any of the melodic
tweaks that Mark My Way has put in the album’s other songs. In any case, aside
from that little filler, this album requires me to plant…
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
8 red
flowers out of 10. Mark My Way doesn’t rely on cheap tricks to make their
hardcore sound badass. Instead, they offer a classy, melodic sound with sharp
riff layers and various convincing vocals. A worthy member of the current H8000
wave! Let’s “Spread too Thin!”