Night Verses - Lift Your Existence (2013)

2013 is a banner year for hardcore and metalcore and this album is probably the primary example of that. It's pretty rare to hear a new band hit it out of the park with their first album, but that's exactly what happens on Lift Your Existence. It's an exciting, dynamic record filled with very proggy riffs and drumming, excellent vocals, and some beautiful post-rock inspired clean parts. It's a very long album (15 songs with one of them topping 10 minutes), but it feels so tight and well-constructed that the length isn't really an issue. Plus, all the songs have catchy moments and are very memorable in their own right. I also detect a heavy dose of inspiration from Tool and Deftones so if you're into those bands then you should definitely give this album a shot. All in all, Lift Your Existence is one of the most technically competent and thrilling hardcore/metalcore albums I've heard yet and might just be my album of the year in that genre (though it does face stiff competition from Absent Light).
9.5/10