Artist: Destroy the Runner
Album: Saints

Label: Solid State

Tracks: 13

Review by Mark Fisher

 

Solid State Records seems to be on the verge of another high profile run with a string of strong bands in their lineup, including both heavyweights like Norma Jean and Underoath and talented newcomers like He Is Legend, Inhale Exhale, Twelve Gauge Valentine, and these guys. With Saints, San Diego based Destroy the Runner are set to put themselves on the map.

 

One of the more striking things about this album is its production. While many bands in this vein tend to have a rough time through their debut and sophomore releases, Saints is an album that goes for the throat right away, coming at you like a brick wall on wheels. The soaring production carries the songs through pretty well. The band is capable and talented for sure, but the far from original sound of songs like “My Darkness,” “From the Red,” “Sound of Reason” and a few others causes the album to blend together a lot more than it should. It’s not that the songs are forgettable; it’s more like you forget who is playing them. These songs could easily be being performed by Underoath, Killswitch Engage, Inhale Exhale, The Haunted, or any number of bands that play extreme music with big catchy choruses. Destroy the Runner fit the bill to a tee and have the talent to pull it off though, making it slightly less bothersome that the sound is so familiar.

 

Overall this is a strong metal record. If you go into it expecting it to be the music you like and not something that is going to form its own genre then you’ll get a lot of love from Saints. It’s a great album to put on when driving down the interstate because it runs at full speed ahead without requiring too much of your concentration. All in all though, it serves as notice that Destroy the Runner have arrived and makes you look forward to what could possibly be next.