Perth, Australia’s Miles Away creates hardcore punk with metal flurishes. Unfortunately for this recent addition to the Bridge 9 Records family, they manage to do it without being interesting or evocative. Instead, they begin their self-titled release with a paint-by-numbers hardcore track called "Worlds Apart" and continue along the same path for the duration of the album.
Churning guitars, barking vocals, rapid-fire drums, repeat; predictability is the one constant on this release.
The disc doesn’t even get interesting until the last 40 seconds of "Turn Your Back" (the third track) when the riffs get loud and crunchy, forcing the metal head bob (a trick repeated halfway through "Holding On"). But part of a song being memorable just isn’t enough, and there are few other bright spots on the CD, the soaring "This Heart" being one of the few.
Put simply, Miles Away is punk for only the most hardcore of hardcore fans. Punk obsessives will appreciate something different to accompany another dive into the pit while casual or new listeners will find little to hold their interest.