http://musicwithadifferentsound.blogspot.com/

More Than Life is easily one of the freshest sounding hardcore bands I have heard in a while. The hardcore scene is blemished by boring, emotionless drivel these days and this five-piece stand out in a crowd. Their debut EP Brave Enough To Fail is a compilation of six tracks oozing with colours which you won't hear in any other, mundane, ough guy hardcore band. Sure, the breakdowns are there, but More Than Life bring a whole new set of cards to the table.

More Than Life are a lot more melodic than their counterparts, and tracks such as 'Never Ender' are rich in changing melodies and harmonies. Vocalist James's scream and the gang vocals in this song are so punctuated and heart-felt that the song overlaps everything else in your environment. It takes a great band to make you really believe the hoarse cries of 'Will I ever make this on my own?'

More Than Life's self-reflexive lyrics stitched together with thir battlefield of a hardcore racket is a match made in heaven. The guitars are crunching, crisp and always conjure up weaving and winding melodies. The stickswork is awash with fast tempos and double bass pedal kicks.

The More Than Life Sound is always agressive, and constantly changing. The short, progressive nature of the songs is a clever ploy as there is rarely a dull moment on the entire EP. One thing which makes the EP so good is that it is just as great to two-step and mosh the night away to as it is to curl up in a ball in a corner and soak up the sheer brutal swagger of it all. Ignore at your peril.

Rating: 4/5

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www.sputnikmusic.com

More Than Life have done quite well for themselves during their short existence. They have also been working very hard. Despite having been a band for only half a year they have recorded a demo (which sold out by the way) as well as this EP. Whilst racking up over 50 shows in their native UK they have shared the stage with much bigger names in the hardcore scene - names such as Bane, Verse and Dead Swans to name but a few. They also have two short European tours currently booked. Essentially, things are looking up for More Than Life, 5 kids from Frome, UK who started the band simply to make something 'that means something to us, tour as much as we can and create memories driving around, playing our songs to people'. Judging by the high standard of blistering hardcore found on this 6-track EP they are more than deserving of their success to date, and would definitely deserve anymore success that could and should come their way.

Recently in the UK a lot of people have been turned onto hardcore by a young band called Gallows. You may have heard of them. While More Than Life do not sound like Gallows, they sound more like early Comeback Kid, comparisons can still frequently be made to them. For instance, frontman James sounds very like Frank Carter, especially towards the end of EP highlight 'Faceless Name' as he screams 'I'm just a ***ing faceless name!' The song twists and turns, going through many tempo shifts, even squeezing in (and getting away with) an ambient guitar solo, all the while remaining relentlessly intense. This intensity rarely lets up over the 16-minute course of the EP. When it does let up it is to serve a purpose - to accentuate the fast, thrashy sections.

Of course, the slower passages here work very well on their own. The tremolo guitar picking alongside the gradually building chords in EP opener 'Aperature' build atmospherically, in an almost post-rock kind of way before the tension is released in the next track. A similar intro is used in closer 'Fear' before giving way to a fast-paced punk song with furious vocals. The overly simple chords here may be a little too upbeat for the genre but the song is very strong structurally and this makes up for it. James sings/shouts with a great deal of urgency but is at his best, as are the rest of the band, on 'Never Ender'. Dramatically changing texture as well as tempo it makes for a very interesting listen, especially with lyrics such as 'dead space is eating me alive from the inside out' sung with such fearful conviction.

While the songs themselves are of a very high standard and all have very interesting sections, whether that be the frantic guitar work of 'In Hindsight' or the opening tom-toms segueing into a soaring guitar riff in the title track, it is not all that memorable. However, it is certainly a very enjoyable listen and must surely translate incredibly well in a live setting - provided that the band can maintain the level of intensity shown here. More Than Life have had a very successful career given the short time span that they have been together, and they have deserved it. This EP is simply a milestone following a lot of time spent on the road touring- it is also bloody good too!

4 EXELLENT

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http://www.wltu-music.de/

Ungewohnt atmosphärische Töne, die MORE THAN LIFE aus Südengland da ihrem temporeichen, beinahe schon depressiven Hardcore unterheben, aber gerade diese unerwartete Note macht hier den Reiz aus, denn man fühlt, dass die sechs Songs echte Frustration transportieren und das in einer Dringlichkeit, die beinahe schon an UNBROKEN denken lässt. Der Fünfer ist erst seit rund zwölf Monaten als Band unterwegs, konnte aber bereits Shows mit INTEGRITY, DEAD SWANS, VERSE, BANE und anderen spielen, auf denen das erste Demo dann auch recht schnell ausverkauft war. Mit 'Brave Enough To Fail' schaffen sie aber auf alle Fälle wieder die Grundlage für lange Touren und ein glückliches Publikum, denn so ein authentisches Release habe ich seit GIVE UP THE GHOSTs 'Background Music' nicht mehr gehört. As pissed as pissed gets. (16:09) (7,5)

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http://www.music-scan.de

Die Jungspunde von MORE THAN LIFE schicken mit „Brave Enough To Fail' ihr erstes reguläres Release nach einem ausverkauften Demo ins Rennen um Aufmerksamkeit und Beachtung. Das Quintett aus dem Südwesten der britischen Insel zeigt sich einem ansprechenden Mischung aus melodischen Youth Crew-Tempo-Passagen mit obligatorischen Chören und subtil-komplexer New School-like-Parts verschrieben, die weitaus Kraft zehrender wirken als die Posi-Granaten. Der Mix ist interessant wie wirkungsstark, so dass MORE THAN im Ergebnis partiell mir Gruppen wie American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost, Modern Life Is War, Comeback Kid, Shai Hulud und Bane zu vergleichen sind. Von all diesen Genannten finden sich Zitate, ohne dass die Briten zu offensichtlich einer Richtung oder maßgeblichen Einflussgröße folgen würden. Vielmehr ist es so, dass der Fünfer stellenweise auch einen direkten Punk-Einschlag mit aufnimmt, der die ohnehin schon intensive bis angepisste Attitüde verstärkt. Latent melodisch bleibt es aber durchgängig, so dass alle Stücke am Ende positiv und bestärkend wirken. Die Musiker sind sicherlich „Brave Enough To Fail', doch diese Einstands-MCD ist aller Ehren wert und lässt darauf hoffen, dass MORE THAN LIFE noch längere Zeit beisammen blieben, um ihren wuchtig-melodischen Hardcore auch auf der Länge eines Albums inszenieren zu können. In jedem Fall sollte man das Quintett im Auge behalten.

7/10

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http://www.smalltowncriminals.de

Feinsten Hardcore
von der Insel bekommen wir von den fünf Jungspunden MORE THAN LIFE
geboten, und man erlebt es selten, dass eine Band ihre Musik dermaßen
von innen heraus, so voller Emotion, Vehemenz und Leidenschaft, nach
außen trägt. „Brave Enough To Fail“ ist ein sechzehnminütiges
Wechselbad intensivster Gefühle.
Der hochmelodische
Old-meets-Newschool-Bastard besticht durch Einfallsreichtum und
Individualität, und besonders die Tempowechsel lassen die fünf Songs
plus Intro zu einer extrem spannenden Sache werden. Was für Grooves und
Moshparts, welch geile Highspeed-Ausbrüche, welch tolle Melodien! Man
fragt sich außerdem, was Frontbrüller James in seinem Leben eigentlich
schon alles durchgemacht hat, denn das Kerlchen brüllt derart leidend
und angekratzt in sein Gesangsgerät, dass man regelrecht mit ihm leidet
und sich Sorgen um ihn macht. Ehrlicher und authentischer geht es kaum,
und schon gar nicht in dieser bärenstarken Form. Nicht nur Fans von
LIFE LONG TRAGEDY, VERSE und ähnlichen Bands sollten MORE TO LIFE eine
Chance geben, sondern schlichtweg jeder geschmackssichere Hardcore-Fan.