Heart Of A Coward
Deliverance
Century Media
Release date: 2 October 2015
Review by Joshua Bulleid
Heart Of A Coward have had a bit of trouble getting off the ground with their first couple of albums. While they managed to amass a small following off the back of those releases, they’ve also fallen short of really breaking out of the British metal underground and remain overshadowed by vocalist Jamie Graham’s original act, Sylosis. However, Deliverance, the band’s third full-length, sees Heart Of A Coward stepping-up every aspect of their sound and truly coming into their own.
The band’s sound is still based heavily in modern metalcore/djent convention, but with the virulent bounce of Slipknot and the menacing groove of Chimaira thrown in for good measure. From the moment the ferocious and infectious opener, Hollow, kicks in, Deliverance delivers a persistently high-energy and technically battering experience that takes the untamed aggression of their 2012 debut, Help and Hindrance, and the more-progressive/technical bent of 2013’s Severance and moulds them into something altogether more proficient and rewarding.
Deliverance is certainly the strongest release of Heart Of A Coward’s burgeoning career, and just might prove to be a career-making record.