Album Review: Scream Through The Walls // As Cities Burn

As Cities Burn formed in 2002 and gained a loyal fanbase throughout their seven-year existence. Their take on post-hardcore blended screams and clean vocals with emotional intensity. This was evident on their debut album ‘Son I Loved You at Your Darkest.’ Following some line-up changes, the band brought out two more albums, ‘Come now Sleep’ and ‘Hell Or High Water’ before breaking up in 2009.

The band reformed recently, and released their first album in ten years, ‘Scream Through the Walls’ earlier this month. It still features the powerful vocals, but the album is more melodic. Recent single ‘2020 AD’ is a straightforward rock banger, sounding very polished. There are singalongs on the album, the gang vocals in ‘Chains’ being very satisfying to listen to and gets a crowd going.

‘Hollowed Out’ is the best track on the album, bringing out the band’s experimental, darker side. The guitar riff is raw and dirty, But there are bits of the EP that feel very disjointed and don’t flow well at all, for example, ‘Live Convinced as it stops and starts. ‘Bright White Light also suffers from this, as it feels forgettable and bland.

‘Scream From the Walls’ is a mixed bag. It doesn’t always capture As Cities Burn’s old spark, bringing a confused set of ideas. However, when it does work, the melodic vocal delivery is well executed.

Words by Ermis Madikopoulos