Album Review: An Ending In Itself By Sleeping With Sirens
Album artwork for “An Ending In Itself” by Sleeping With Sirens
After 4 years since their last album Sleeping With Sirens are set to release their 8th studio album “An Ending In Itself” this will be the first album since previous guitarist Jack Fowler left the band, with Tony Pizzuti taking the helm in 2022. They have also announced a European tour for the aforementioned album with support from Arms Length and Like Roses. The band has been a mainstay in the metalcore scene since the 2010s, but with many fans reminiscing of the early albums such as “Let’s Cheers To This” and “With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear” are they able to live up to very heavy expectations?
The title track An Ending In Itself, brings back many elements of the early days, with riffs that sound like they were taken straight from 2010 and a breakdown that makes your face scrunch up. The track (and album) title is signalling an end of an era for the band with Kellin Quinn working on solo projects such as Haunted Mouths, and the band looking into the future, they use the first track as a welcome back to fans with their classic sound without making a cheap copy. This track is the perfect start to a record like this, bringing people back with a familiar sound before they look to explore new elements further on in the album.
This next track is the most reminiscent of their second (and arguably their best) album, “Let’s Cheers To This” with the angsty sound and feeling. The main take away from Forever/Always is the drumming from Matty Best in a portion of the track that strikes resemblance to bands like Loathe. Unfortunately, the rest of the track comes off as if the band were trying to closely copy their old essence but fell short, leaving this track sounding generic for the most part whilst still having decent moments throughout.
The best way to describe Left On Repeat is like Marmite, you will either love it or hate it. Starting with the lyrics “Na Na Na Na” and accompanied by a chorus that the band wants you to sing along to. This track comes off as jarring due to the repetitive lyrics and soulless instrumental. The catchy nature of the track will be sure to make this a divided inclusion amongst fans and will stick in your head for days even if you don’t enjoy it. This song is like if Waterparks got a tiny bit heavier and didn’t know what to do with it, coming off as a mess of a track where the instrumental does not match the voice of Quinn at all which you will find is abundant on this album.
On a more positive note, we have easily the best track off this record; Paralyzed. Straight out of the gate we have heavy hitting vocals and a mean riff alongside that makes this song quintessential Sleeping With Sirens. The track is a great showcase of Kellin Quinn’s vocals between cleaner tones on the chorus to being gritty in the verses and the breakdown brings a whole new level to the track which leaves a lasting impression for the rest of the record. This track makes you feel like you’ve been teleported back to 2010, and even in using these old elements from past albums, they have managed to make the sound and feeling of this track original. It’s a continuation and evolution of that post-hardcore sound that they are so well known and remembered for.
Staying with the modern metalcore mould that we see in this record with likeness to Bring Me The Horizon’s recent material, Process is a track that you can move your head to on the first listen but may not come back to it in the future as it has been done better by other bands in past years. The downsides to this track outweigh the upsides as the track is performed well and is listenable but comes with an overall common sound that has been repeated too many times. This is an issue that you will hear with many of these tracks as the band seem to be trying to cater to a wider audience instead of their niche and in turn have made this album seem like a quick job so that they can continue touring.
Coming in at 5 minutes and 18 seconds Looking Back At Me is the longest track on the record, and the band brings in a complete listening experience with all of their strongest aspects. Quinn’s vocals on this track encapsulates the essence of Sleeping With Sirens and why this band is so popular within their community. With a slower start to the verse and then a chorus that builds the track up throughout which culminates in a energetic finish that brings its all together makes this a enjoyable and entertaining listen.
“An Ending In Itself” is a mixed bag with tracks that are drowned out by sounding too generic and repetitive whilst the tracks that are unique show why Sleeping With Sirens are a loved band in the metalcore and post-hardcore scene, and that they can still bring creative ideas to the table even if they could be based off nostalgia to their earlier material.
All in all this is a fun and catchy album that fans will enjoy when they embark on their next tour starting on the 16th of February 2027 but lacks originality and freshness that many are looking for with this record. This won’t be an album many will come back to in the future but on the first playthrough it is a decent listen, it just fails to capture the original feeling of a band that is so well known for their unique sound.
FFO: Pierce The Veil, Colourblind, Bring Me The Horizon
SCORE: 5/10
An Ending In Itself is out Friday 12th June on all streaming platforms via Rise Records.
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