Almost Home 'Royalty EP' Review

Almost Here is a Staten Island based hardcore/metal band who recently just released their first EP, Royalty. I hadn't heard of them until they reached out to me through email, and I'm glad they did.

Royalty opens up with a soft piano and synth driven instrumental track called, "Don't be Alarmed; This is a Kindness."The melodic "non-hardcore" intro track has also been seen in local bands such as: Heroes and Relics; both very good hardcore bands.

From there the listener is blasted by guitars from the right as "Dig Your Own Grave" opens with panning guitars. This song reminds me of classic Comeback Kid, with a punkier style of music mixed with yelled vocals, but also had it's own dimension in deep screams. The song ends with an even heavier burst of double bass and duel guitars then it started with.

"Rip Out My Heart" comes in with a calm, as vocalist Johnny sings over pretty guitar parts. After the song switches into intense screaming, the chorus gets very punk heavy, kind of an unexpected surprise. It was a solid switch. After the second chorus the songs sort of changes entirely and sticks with the punk-hardcore sounds until the end.

"Four Nineteen" has singing in the beginning just like the track before and then heads into probably the best musical part of the album. There's a lot of dynamic between the musicians going back and fourth. This is definitely my favorite track on the album because of the level of musicianship in the song, everything blends perfectly.

Overall, Almost Home did a great job on the Royalty EP. Technically the album only has three full songs on it, we need more! They are off to the right track and the actual recording quality is killer.

Check out Almost Home below: