Album Review: Bayharbour’s Debut Album ‘Time Lapse’

Over the last few weeks Brisbane metalcore outfit Bayharbour have given us plenty to be excited about with the release of two killer, hyper-aggressive singles from their debut album ‘Time Lapse’. The wait is now finally over, and after listening to this auditory onslaught and letting the dust settle, we’re pretty impressed!

The album opens with ethereal track Perception, which features some beautiful guitar tones and handy synthesiser work coupled with the muffled Tim Lambesis-esque screams of frontman Jay Sibthorpe. Perception transitions explosively into Cancerous, slapping you in the face without the slightest apology with its heavy riffage, thrashy drums, and huge melodic chorus.

The album’s third single Life In The Clouds is one of the standout tracks on the album. Drummer and clean vocalist Nat Patterson delivers impressive fills and thumbing double-kicks as a solid foundation to the huge, powerful track. The dual-vocal attack of Sibthorpe and Patterson is a highlight and compliments the killer guitar work of Thomas Bryden, who lays down a very tasteful solo to wrap up the song.

“The track, much like most of the album, just oozes aggression!”

Further down the spine of ‘Time Lapse’, A Departure and Zenosyne are brutal masterpieces! A Departure has a minute-long instrumental intro which then erupts into chaos, as Bayharbour break the serenity with fast-paced verses filled with technical guitar work, immense screams, and blast beats. The featured vocals of Tegan Hollard are also provide a counterpoint to the surrounding brutality, a rose amongst thorns if you will.

Zenosyne on the other hand is just all thorns! The ruthless intro will get your blood pumping before its enormous chorus captivates you with a careful balance of clean and unclean vocals, almost resembling a slightly heavier circa-2012 Amity Affliction. The breakdown is executed with almost robot-like precision and is sure to destroy any mosh pit!

Fading Away is a slightly more melodic break from Bayharbour’s aggressive approach, but, while it’s a good song, it does become overshadowed by other tracks on ‘Time Lapse’. In contrast, Gravemind, Fukushima, and Stargazing offer the raw brutality we’ve come to love from Bayharbour, full of breakdowns and double-kicks masterfully balanced with massive, melodic choruses.

Oathbreaker is by far the most explosive track on ‘Time Lapse’. Sibthorpe’s huge scream coupled with one of the best riffs on the album drives hard and fast into killer pinched harmonics and epic blasting, making the song perfect fuel for the inevitable circle pit. The track, much like most of the album, just oozes aggression!

“…if you’re in need of throwing some limbs around or feel like life’s slipping past way too quickly definitely plug in your earphones and crank ‘Time Lapse’.”

Title-track Time Lapse features an interesting speech in the intro, focusing on how quickly time seems to go by as you get older. This track is less technical and thrashy than the rest of the album, instead focussing on the emotional premise of album’s overarching theme. The use of dynamics and an extended ambient soundscape pierced only by Sibthorpe’s growls effectively hammer home the deep emotion in the track, “I am the architect of my own disaster”.

Wrapping up ‘Time Lapse’ is The Architect. While the emotional themes at first transition smoothly into the track, the song quickly morphs into thrash beats and breakdowns. Even though the emotion in the track drops out, replace by some truly brutal metalcore instrumentation, the dramatic fading ending will leaving you in a daze as you reflect on the rollercoaster you just experienced.

Overall, Bayharbour have delivered an accomplished and quality metalcore debut album. Their attention to detail and the balance between brutality and the album’s emotional themes is masterful. It’s an epic ride, but if you’re in need of throwing some limbs around or feel like life’s slipping past way too quickly definitely plug in your earphones and crank ‘Time Lapse’.

Catch the quintet live in Brisbane when they support Make Them Suffer at the Crowbar, more details below!

Make Them Suffer
supported by Bayharbour

THURS 8 DEC
Crowbar, Brisbane