Brave Heart – “Leaving//Remembering”
Brave Heart is a Melodic-Hardcore band out of San Fransisco, California. Hunter Thomas of Brave Heart reached out to me a few months ago and I am extremely grateful that he did. Hunter’s email put me on to one of the best current Melodic-Hardcore bands that I have heard. Brave Heart released their most recent seven song EP, “Leaving//Remembering”, in 2017 and it is killer! If you’re a fan of the hardcore scene, this EP is for you!
“Leaving//Remembering” brought upon so much nostalgia when I first listened to it. The album reminded me of my days in middle school and high school, listening to Comeback Kid, Silverstein and Evergreen Terrace. Back then, you were able to come across a high quality Melodic-Hardcore band pretty easily. Nowadays it seems that band’s of this genre that are actually worth listening to are few and far between. Brave Heart is without a doubt, worth the listen!
Brave Heart starts off the EP with Leaving. I love this intro track because it sets up the entire album. The song is mainly instrumentals, something I really enjoy on a hardcore album. I love when a band rocks out for the intro track and gets the listener pumped up for the rest of the album. As stated, the song is mainly instrumentals with the exception of one repeated line; “I promise you, I’ll be brave like you told me to”. This is the perfect set up for the emotional roller coaster that is represented throughout the remainder of the album.
World Separate follows Leaving and it is a banger! The song does not ease into the vocals like the intro song does. The listener is immediately thrown into the intense screaming vocals and sick guitar riffs. The entire album is filled with emotions. The lyrics represent a failed relationship, one in which the man was never truly appreciated like he wishes he was. No matter what is done to help improve the situation, the relationship seems to be stuck in limbo. “We hit our head like stones clashing til it sparks a fire. We go through this every day, will we ever get tired? The walls are gone and the path is clear and now’s about the time, that I’ll move on with the weight of the world to make it look like I’ll be fine. These are the things that I wish I said but I couldn’t say to you. What could’ve gone wrong? There’s nothing I could have done, but once the world comes to end thats when you’ll miss me when I’m gone!” In addition to the emotional lyrics that make this song so likable, the breakdown towards the end of the song is a head banger!
Brave Heart continues “Leaving//Remembering” with Cracks in the Foundation. This song is another killer track on the EP. In all honesty, this entire EP is one giant head banger. There isn’t a single song on it that fans of the genre will not enjoy. That is what reminds me so much of the early/mid 2000’s Melodic-Hardcore era. It was filled with albums that had amazing songs from start to finish. Brave Heart achieved this goal and put out an amazing album. Cracks in the Foundation is one of my favorite songs because I love the message behind it. “I am done not living up to your standards, and saying I could have been better. All that you’ve done is point all your guns, at the days I’ve always felt humble. Please tell me what I can do to help me prove to you, that I’m not the little boy who used to never tell the truth. I’ve told you my intentions but you never seem to listen, so what is the point if you don’t see my motivation? We all have our fate and our own destiny, why are you choosing mine and keeping me from being me?” These lyrics are so important to be heard by anyone stuck in a relationship that is one-sided. No matter how much you try to change for someone else, it will never work. You are who you are, and if the other person cannot support that then the relationship will never work!
“Leaving//Remembering” has four more songs on the EP, but two stand out to me; Downbreaker and Reminisce. Downbreaker is a jam! It is everything a Hardcore fan hopes for; sick screaming vocals, fast paced drumming, crazy guitar riffs and all around chaos. The breakdown in the middle of the song is perfect. The vocals “break me down, kill me now” are screamed over the dark instrumentals. This leads into a short bridge that ends with an all out band throwdown at the end of the song. If you’re not ready to go insane, stay away from the pit during this song! The EP ends with Reminisce, a song that is the perfect way to cap it off. The lyrics recap the emotions that are expressed throughout the album. “I’ll scream my heart out, until my lungs give in. But it still takes more than me, to even ask you how you’ve been. I miss you more than anything, every while was worth the days. We move on with what life brings, until our memories fade”.
Brave Heart put out a killer, head banging, face melting EP. Everyone should check it out, not even just for the amazing quality, but the deeper messages within the songs. If you’re a fan of music in general, you will love the lyrics throughout this album. I can’t wait to see what Brave Heart has in store for the future! Make sure to follow the band’s social media accounts and listen to some music from “Leaving//Remembering” on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!