Self Revival is High Hopes debut album. Clearly huge fans of Stick To Your Guns and Parkway Drive, High Hopes haven’t done a bad job of keeping the genre alive – although perhaps a few years late – but if you are looking for some new guitar riffs to learn, this album won’t disappoint.
Self Revival demonstrates a great balance of melodic parts and all-out brutal songs, showing that the band have put a lot of thought into this album, with some genuinely great tracks such as Renew Reform and Strength To Strength.
However, there isn’t anything new that has been brought to the table; just an album set to blend in and because of this, there isn’t really anything too bad to report as it sits nicely in the middle. On the other hand, what the album does well is that it’s very explosive, and tension runs high for the first half of the album, but cleverly they place a break that allows a point to catch your breath with a Ludovico Einaudi-sounding piano piece that floats along for just over a minute before the action continues.
Overall, the band have a lot of growing to do if they really want to take themselves to the next level, but the album indicates High Hopes are strong musicians that are capable of doing so. It ends strong but it is hard to rave about it as there’s unfortunately something mediocre about the whole thing.
6/10
