Finding an apt home with Equal Vision Records, Pennsylvania's
This Day Forward may have also found its calling with this focused third release. (A tour with
Thursday didn't hurt.) Piecing together the aggression of hardcore, the passion of emocore, and the floggin' of metal,
In Response crashes down with dogged rhythms, muscular guitars, and sincere screaming. But
TDF isn't afraid to unveil a lax side either, with melodic breakdowns on "One and One" and the calm instrumental "Seven." Most of the time though, vocalist Mike Shaw wails like a sensitive
Henry Rollins, with new guitarists Brendan Ekstrom and Vadim Taver supplying a solid charge of powerful riffs. Backwards tracks on "Euphio Question" offer some earnest experimentation that the band pulls off succinctly. The intense shout-along "Nouveau" and "The Breath" are some of the many jawbreaking moments on
In Response, which will surely be a crowd-pleaser. ~ Kenyon Hopkin