While the roots of “emo” can be traced back to the 80’s hardcore scene, it was with the turn of the millennium that, as a style, it really took hold of the conscience of the metal world; a natural response the braggadocio and machismo of a post-Pantera musical environment… hardcore could be sensitive, it didn’t have to be muscle-bound and it was perfectly acceptable to tug on the heartstrings.

“Emo” doesn’t have to be, indeed it shouldn’t be, a dirty word or the negative slur it has become. As the mouth consumes its own tail, that which was a response is targeted by a counter-response for watering down the original substance – an argument which ignores the fact that, by adding a new chemical to the compound, it becomes a different substance.

So, why all the talk of “emo”? Ohio’s The Plot In You are a metalcore band, albeit one to explore introspection and personal difficulties, are they not? Because on third album Happiness In Self-Destruction (Stay Sick), TPIY have moved further down the emo path, seeking to marry the two styles and further establish their own niche and when they’re successful at it, such as ‘Time Changes Everything’ and ‘Take Me Away’, there is a connection and a feeling of genuine emotion. Even when introducing a down-tuned Korn-lurch, such as on ‘Runaway’, they maintain a feeling of misperception, or fear within, and piece tension to desolation.

Yet, this is a high-maintenance style to sustain, and a difficult sheen to preserve. ‘Pillhead’ slips into King 810 territory, but without the hooks or menace of the Flint mob, and the suspension of disbelief is broken. It’s even more difficult to craft 15 songs of this style across 58 minutes and preserve quality and interest as there are just too few colours; everything daubed in greys and browns, yet there are several moments TPIY pull it together splattered at intervals throughout the album, ‘My Old Ways’ picking up the middle of the album just when it needed it.

An hour with them is heavy going, and like a heavyweight boxer, they seem to pick and choose the moments to come out fighting, and when to grab and hold, unable to maintain stamina across all 15 rounds. That said, there is a consistency of style and a Chinese water-torture of atmosphere, and TPIY are shaping their own brand of heavy emo-core. Do you know what, sometimes it only takes a few big haymakers to win the fight.

7.0/10

STEVE TOVEY