Restless “2009 demo”

This quick four-song demo is the debut outing from Columbus, OH's Restless (I don't think any cover art exists, hence I'm just using a band photo for this post). When the band wrote me about checking out this material, I was told they'd been described as "epic party hardcore", which immediately turned me off and had me assuming I'd hate this. Thankfully calling this "epic party hardcore" is hugely inaccurate, as there's nothing lighthearted or silly about this material in any way. The band plays extremely solid melodic hardcore that balances just the right amount of chunky heaviness and forceful, aggressively textured vocals with melodic arpeggios, octave chords, and other such accents to color things up. It's memorable and energetic without coming across as super catchy or overly melodic, which is awesome. The lyrics all seem to deal with personal hardships and whatnot, so I have no idea where anyone got the "party" vibe!? Whatever. This is great material and it sounds pretty damn good for a demo, too. I love the vocals, the plunky basslines are right in the center of the mix, etc. Sure, there's room for improvement here and there, but I could definitely live with a full-length that sounded just like this. I'm looking forward to it, as well...

Restless "Tides"

The band has made the entire demo available for free, so have at it:

[DOWNLOAD] Restless "2009 demo" (@ MediaFire)