Metalcore is a nation divided.

Ask the clerk rocking the baggiest tee at your local record dealer to gauge the state of the scene and their opinion will largely depend on whether they properly recognize Jane Doe. The arms race to produce the world’s most senseless breakdown will only escalate under the subgenre’s newly elected President. However, there’s hope for the youth of today.

Ruin The Best Of Me - Holder — Ruin The Best Of Me – Holder

Respect your enemies
Colic I watch my faults brought forward
I can’t let the cold hands take the wheel…
(Lack of spine)
(No sense of self)
(And In time)
(This is all you’ll have)

Holder are nostalgic for a time even they might not remember. They belong to a wave of young bands who are popularizing a less polished, more melodic take on metalcore that wasn’t all that trendy during its pre-Y2K inception. Their breakout EP edged on screamo, but the first two singles with new vocalist Brie Percy move in a heavier direction.

Both songs are worth the four minutes of your time, though if you can’t wait to open the pit, start with “Inconsolable”. Some weathered vets can’t get more than added noise out of a second guitar, but Holder know how to balance their fits of rage. The downpour of drop-tuned chugs falls even harder amidst a countermelody that scrapes across the sky like lightning.

“I can’t let the cold hands take the wheel,” Percy gasps as the band shift to a nerve-racked gear. Haunted minor chords lead them down an unbeaten path with no light at the end.

As I crawl up the stairs
I follow sunken footsteps
As I crawl up the stairs
I follow, I follow

Percy found her way here by accident. As told to No Echo, when she moved to Western Massachusetts at eighteen years old, the only bands who were hiring didn’t need a singer but someone who could scream like the demons of hell. Even though she might’ve felt pressure to fill the hole left by Holder’s previous vocalist, “Inconsolable” refuses to let the past define her. While harsh, her voice possesses the strength to not only push through the pain but channel the controlled chaos that hasn’t been reached since metalcore’s heyday on Hydra Head.

“Inconsolable” is out now on Daze.

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