Landmvrks is relatively a new band. Hailing from Marseille, France the quartet that consists of Florent Salfati, Nicolas Exposito, Rudy Purkart, and Nicolas Soriano only have one album under their belt, Hollow that was released in 2016. The debut earned them a set at last year’s Hellfest. The quartet signed a deal with Arising Empire and crafted their new album Fantasy.
The quartet tries to create their own sound with this album—consisting of memorable choruses, melodic hooks, and guitars solos. The vocals are clean and the idea of this album works but misses to fully develop.
When the album shines, it shines with dynamic melodic lines and Salfati’s staccato is executed with finesse and heaviness like in ‘Wake Up Call.’ The vocal melodies and instruments here are aligned perfectly. That’s another point to give credit to this album—vocals are versatile and well produced throughout.
‘Scars’ featuring Florestan Durand of Parisian band Novelist, represents their songwriting capability due to the musicianship of guitarist Exposito. The leading single of the album was curated as a typical metalcore tune but packs in a strong disposition that will hook you right it with the leading riff.
‘Blistering’ has a post-hardcore charisma with a melodic-dominated instrumental backbone. As another single, it really highlights the band’s forte.
‘Alive’ featuring Camille Contreras of Bliss Sigh is a delicate alternative ballad packed with emotion where his scratchy-soft vocals work.
‘Dead Inside’ is constructed with a simple pop-punk pattern staying true to the heavy pattern found on the record. As the instrumental interlude, ‘Kurhah’ goes on it paves the way for the last rack ‘Disdain.’ The concluding track is a mix of melodic beauty paired with rousing heaviness.
The highlights of the album are found in those tracks. The remaining are riff-heavy that will have you interested but not enough to want to listen to them again.
Fantasy is a great introduction to those who have not heard of them. No song on the record is bad, however, most tracks are as basic as generic metalcore comes. Landmvrks is a band that is slowly moving the waters in the French metalcore scene. They have the potential to show that—perhaps, not with this album but with future efforts.
6.5/10
CYNTHIA JO