We Came as Romans
Tracing Back Roots

We Came As Romans are the typical band detested by the more purist metalheads (and not only them), as they are part of the new wave of metalcore bands that's currently reaching its peak of popularity. Although, to be honest, there's very little metalcore in this "Tracing Back Roots," and it would be unfair to consider this work as being done by a band from the aforementioned melting pot.

Today, We Came As Romans are a different band from the one of "To Plant A Seed", and if "Tracing Back Roots" had been released 7/8 years ago, it would have been labeled as an emocore album, similar to Silverstein. In 2014, this can only be considered an FM rock album, with some metal influences; so much so that I have coined a new term to define this concoction: stadiumcore, that is, big rock  (as the English like to call it) with stadium chants and scattered breakdowns and screams. To support my thesis, here are the best examples: "Fade Away", a brazen single and the least "core" song of the pack, another single "Never Let Me Go", the magnificent "A Moment" (capable of moving between breakdowns, devastating choruses and electro sequences) and "Present, Future And Past". The lyrics, mostly autobiographical, remain a strong point of the Michigan group, even though there are occasional frivolities (in "Ghosts", Kyle states that "I will scream 'til the breath is gone from my lungs, I will scream 'til it's gone").

An album that therefore contains all the elements to be loved by longtime fans and hated by those who cannot stand the genre, and that, as expected, has achieved good sales success (even ranking in the top 10 of the best-selling albums in the USA). The title suggests the band came as Romans to trace back to their roots, but in reality, this record marks a break with the past and the beginning of a new path for the continuation of their career.

Rating: 7.5 (out of 10)