Victory Record’s Victory

In recent years, emo has fallen by the wayside in heavier music, being outshone by much of the post-punk and melodic hardcore that has been released, but Poughkeepsie, NY natives Meridian is prepared to change that once and for all. As of the writing of this review, all of the members are between the ages of 17 and 20 but listening to their Victory Records debut, The Ugly Truth, which follows their self-released Reformation from 2013, you wouldn’t be able to tell. They may not yet be old enough to enter a bar, but these boys have told their older counterparts, definitively, that they mean business with this new record.

The first thing that stands out about Meridian is their beautiful, powerful vocals provided by David Mitchell and guitarist Chris Evanko. This shows through immediately with the beginning of the opening track, “Gloom,” where listeners are shown the range of sounds to come, from gentle, clean singing to emotional screams. Their New York hardcore roots come through on tracks like “Slither,” with breakdowns that will get you up on your feet and bedroom moshing in no time. A highlight on the record comes at the very end, with the song “Borrowed Time,” that is one of their most straight-forward melodic hardcore songs with some absolutely shifts.

It has been proven over again nearly once a month this year — and The Ugly Truth has just confirmed it, — that melodic hardcore is the genre of the future. With the right talented voices behind it, some incredible works can be created. Any hardcore fans that miss the “good ol’” emo days will absolutely adore this record, and it may just turn a few emo non-believers. If Meridian continues on this path, we should all sit down and pay attention, and remember to never underestimate teenagers again.