England’s Cotheria are a new band that is looking to make an impact in the modern world of aggressive music. Upon listening to this EP, I quickly realized that these guys need to work on many things before they will be ready to make an impact on the market, especially with so many new and innovative bands coming out of virtually every country where metal can be successfully marketed. Cotheria, being English, have a big role to fill in acquiring any meaningful status, and thus far, I am not impressed.

The Harlequin is simply not that great. It’s paint by numbers and none of the integral parts are that mind blowing. The best member of the band is drummer Chris Wordsworth who provides a much needed uplift to the sagging center of Cotheria, yet still, his skills don’t make up for the boredom that is produced over this 4 song EP. Vocalist David Eriya is proficient in his duties, certainly much better than the nasally Trivium or one of the other umpteen metalcore and screamo bands out there who seem to almost have the same damn vocalist.

So we have a proficient vocalist, and a good drummer, unfortunately, what’s left is less than spectacular. There are no solos, and the rhythm does nothing to make up for this fact. There are some good bands out there who don’t rely on solos, but they make up for it with kick ass melodies and awesome rhythm guitar riffs. There is just simply not enough substance on The Harlequin. EP’s are produced to give us a peak at what is to come for a band, and thus far, Cotheria hasn’t shown that they have the ability yet to write compelling riffs to at least keep me interested. The best parts of the EP are the heavier portions, but those are also quite generic and devolve into modern rock instead of an intense, hard hitting metallic assault. There are a few moments where the aggression is just right and shows a silver lining for the group, but it’s just not enough to justify enjoying each song as a whole.

I would suggest Cotheria go back to the drawing board. I’d like to see Chris really continue on the same path with some great drum work, a bit more harshness to David’s voice to give the band a bit more of a darker atmosphere. Finally, I think this band needs to up it’s guitar riffs. I honestly can’t really tell listening to this if the guitarists are that great or not, they are certainly tight in their execution, but the riffs are just not there to show off their talents.

EH…

Top Tracks: Mourning Star

Similar Artists: Killswitch Engage, Disturbed, Saosin, Underoath

1. Pendulum
2. Last Words
3. Snowfall
4. Mourning Star

David Eriya – Vocals
Stephen Creek – Guitars
Chris Wordsworth – Drums
John Wordsworth – Bass

Self Released

http://www.myspace.com/cotheria

Review by CODY