Y’know, Wage War catch a bit too much flak sometimes. They might be to blame for propagating a mutation of metalcore that turns all who touch it into soulless, formless, radio-chasing shills, but they do have their moments. I Prevail, on the other hand, are patient zero of this whole thing, and the closest thing resembling a ‘moment’ they have is the viral Blank Space cover from 2014. Yes, in the decade-plus since, despite forging the architectural cornerstone for how metalcore now behaves in the mainstream, a Taylor Swift cover is still the pinnacle of I Prevail’s existence.
But with the departure of co-vocalist Brian Burkheiser, now is the perfect opportunity for I Prevail to develop a second noteworthy thing about themselves. With Eric Vanlerberghe staying on as the sole frontman, there’s no reason not to show off some more adaptability, or even toy with routes hitherto unexplored. A bold new era is in reach, just waiting to be snatched up and taken advantage of. So, in typical I Prevail fashion, they ignore all of that and show no development whatsoever.
They almost seem curious about the idea at certain points on Violent Nature, but at the same time, terrified of any subsequent baggage from doing something halfway interesting, so snap back into stasis. If that’s true, then I Prevail seem to be grossly overestimating how far their purview reaches. On the opener Synthetic Soul, if the frigid pianos and Vanlerberghe’s yearning Jared Leto aping came from the genuine article, it’d be a mediocre modern Thirty Seconds To Mars song, at best. At the opposite bookend, there’s something approaching the grunge / nu-metal hybridisation of Ocean Grove or Split Chain on Stay Away, though its backwash-dull lumbering quells any fears of being too engaging.
In between, it’s I Prevail’s usual sampler platter of a whole lotta nothin’. Now four albums in, they’re functionally yet to budge, besides maybe retooling to sit more comfortably among the newest crop of metalcore dullards. The title track and God are heavier than usual but with no purpose behind it; they hammer away incessantly to create the idea of destructive force that’s as superficial as it gets. Crimson Clover, meanwhile, is the heartfelt, turned-down moment, rooted in an repeated acoustic riff with bizarrely poor shape, and sports one of Violent Nature’s more easy-to-grip choruses despite how, again, its sentimentality feels very desultory.
At least there’s a smidge of credit to be given as, among all of that, this might be the first ever instance of one of the jobbers comprising I Prevail’s instrumental ensemble being allowed to stand out. On NWO, Gabe Helguera is actually allowed to impress with some cool, fresher drumming patterns, with even a nice bit of crunch in the production for his troubles. Either there’s been a slip-up in the coding or some actual human effort has been allowed to peek above the parapet, but it’s a nice to get a small morsel of personality on an album otherwise surrendering to its hunger pangs. There’s nothing else here to get invested in, where the rote, pat metalcore pose is as locked-in as ever, and all of its trappings are on full view. A question, dear reader—has anything made you ever believe, even for a second, that Eric Vanlerberghe is a “sick motherfucker with a violent nature” as he states on the title track? Or how about a put-upon good-guy, like on Pray? Perhaps any of this would be easier to buy if they weren’t the most stock genre archetypes ever conceived.
But for I Prevail, going beyond that just wouldn’t be the done thing. Their entire brand is build on peddling the safest, emptiest form of metalcore imaginable, and because they’ve been rewarded for it, there’s no need to do more. Forget having the easiest lay-up for a reinvention or retooling; a dollop of the usual grey-brown slurry will suffice. What’s more, at no point is gratification even a part of the equation, certainly not for the listener, but not for I Prevail themselves either. What joy is there to be gained from making music like this? Outside of a fatter bank account, there isn’t any. Not that there are tremendous expectations of integrity when that Blank Space cover haunts their every waking moment to this day.
Maybe that’s the explanation, then—what’s the point of moving on from being flagrant, hacky sellouts when it’s baked into your very existence?
For fans of: Memphis May Fire, We Came As Romans, Wage War
‘Violent Nature’ by I Prevail is released on 19th September on Fearless Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
