I don’t think people would be offended if I was to say that Montréal hardcore was in the middle of a minor renaissance. Within the past year or so, there have been several new bands and new releases from old bands including Violent State, Wax, Front Commun, Gazm, and Cell. These bands span the broad spectrum of what is generally agreed to be “hardcore,” however, this new wave of music from MTLHC has distinctly lacked more metallic and melodic leanings. Ordeal successfully fills this vacancy with their new EP Root in Superstition, a release that has the melodies and heaviness to appease fans of both Misery Signals and Converge.
This record has been long awaited by those who follow Ordeal. An unfinished copy of the EP floated around Eastern Canada for almost a year before it was officially released at the beginning of this month. The first thing I want to say about this EP is that it sounds great, it is almost flawless in what it aimed to accomplish. This is the first time that Ordeal feels full and punishing. Furthermore, their sound has also swayed in that direction as they lost some of their chaotic and overly melodic leanings for what to me is a more straight-forward metallic sound. What really makes this EP stand out is the influence of melodic hardcore acts such as Killing the Dream, the Carrier, and Ruiner. Riffs and breakdowns in the vein of metallic hardcore bands such as Indecision and Discourse are interspersed with excellently executed melodic parts that get stuck in your head (including a piano introduction to “Bloodlines” which works extremely well). I hesitate to compare Ordeal to melodic metalcore bands such as Misery Signals or Renounced because I do not feel they seamlessly combine melody and heaviness like many of those acts, instead opting to split those tendencies into separate parts. However, I think this works to their advantage as they expertly flow through these often opposing desires with excellent songwriting. Root in Superstition is a hard release to categorize as aspects heavily draw from metallic and melodic hardcore while others are surely inspired by both contemporary and legacy metalcore acts. The fluidity of Ordeal’s sound illustrates the futility of the strict categorization of hardcore music teaching us a valuable lesson: stop being a nerd and just enjoy it.
Ordeal rides a fine line between melody and heaviness, a line that is often divisive within hardcore circles. However, Root in Superstition does it in such a way that those on both sides of the line will find something appealing.
The Great White North 