About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

An up-tempo mix of punk, industrial, and grunge with nods to Motörhead.



Pros

• A huge sound benefits the angry, politically-charged lyrics.
• The songs are catchy and well-written.

Cons

• October File can only nominally be labeled as metal, and are closer to hardcore, and even grunge.
• The heavy emphasis upon other genres may not satisfy most metal purists.

Description

• Released May 18, 2010 on Candlelight Records.

• October File hail from England.
• October File are named after a die Kreuzen album.

Guide Review - October File - 'Our Souls To You'

Britain’s October File play a mix of hardcore, industrial, and grunge on their third full-length album Our Souls to You. The mix of disparate styles fits October File quite well, as the lyrical content is an angry mix of left wing politics and disgust directed at national governments. The music is loud with huge riffs, an audible bass that provides a solid backbone, rough vocals, and hard hitting percussion delivered at a mid-paced tempo that periodically approaches a hardcore-based gallop.

However, October File are not quite a straight up metal band and appear to be influenced by mid-paced hardcore, industrial, and even grunge. The riffs from guitarist Matt Lerwill are large, though, and fairly metallic in sound, ultimately granting October File favorable comparisons to, perhaps, Motörhead and other bands blurring the lines between metal, rock n’ roll, and hardcore.

The music works, however, as the songs are well-written, the riffs are catchy, and the in your face vocals are delivered with vitriolic anger.

Other influences, such as the aforementioned industrial and grunge, periodically appear in the music. At times, the riffing has a mechanistic quality, such as what appears towards the end of “Falter.” At other moments, the guitars soften a bit, bringing to mind past work from bands such as Alice In Chains and Soundgarden in songs such as “Eau Du War.” The music is generally good, though, resulting in fairly heavy hitting songs that should interest those listeners comfortable flirting with the boundaries of metal.

However, October File can only loosely be labeled as a metal band, and probably won’t satisfy the average metal fan for that reason. But, Our Souls to You is a solid album that is not afraid to approach different styles of heavy music, and is, therefore, recommended.



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