Metal Life review: PALACEBURN – Curses EP

Kids these days wouldn’t know what rock music was if it slapped them in the faces with a Marshall halfstack, thanks to sensible denotations like AC/DC and Kiss being exchanged in the minds of youth for the marshmallow-ness of bands like Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire. Thank goodness there are bands like Palaceburn to maintain the power and dimension of a solidly structured rock melody.

From the outside, there’s nothing outrageous about them…no costumes, no gimmicks, and no undue attention drawn to the fact that there is a woman fronting the band.  Upon listening to their EP, what the listener finds is a small but mighty collection of riff-and-rhythm driven rock much in the vein of bands like Breaking Benjamin. Palaceburn abandons the objective of trying to surprise listeners; they would much rather convince us music lovers that they are a local band you can trust to know what the best kind of rock music sounds like.  There is nothing grandly innovative in songs like “Believe” and “Breathless.” Crisp guitar leads, gently guiding drum grooves, and playful vocal lines that are omnipresent in the EP gave me a sort of meditative satisfaction because it’s good to know that there are musicians out there practicing the techniques that they know will please audiences.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

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