19th March 2025

Review: “Winter” by Halfway Home

Crafting a sound that blends crushing Metalcore with the emotive qualities of Post-Hardcore, Halfway Home put themselves on the map with debut EP “Autumn” in the summer of 2022. After a run of shows with anyone who would tread the boards with them including Akkadian, Indevth and Bloodshot the band took the plunge and entered Metal 2 The Masses in Oxford. While the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival remained a dream, the adventure paved the way for the quintet to appear at Rabidfest last year, a music video for “Leeches” directed by TheCityIsOurs vocalist Oli Duncanson arriving between times. That single appears on their highly anticipated sophomore EP “Winter“, proving that the dynamic quintet can capture the energy of their intense and raw live performances and commit them to tape…

Aching piano provides a melancholic backdrop to a conversation between a patient and doctor about being tired of life before a stunning and yet bleak verse about digging deep creates “Solstice“. An introduction piece that will lyrically resonate with anyone who has suffered from anxiety or depression, it sends a chill down the spine and exposes feelings dark and introspective. Guitars come into play as the aforementioned “Leeches” rises up to fill the void left by that with melancholic crunch, a tale of a broken relationship feeding the pain within. Sing-a-long moments and a couple of Architects inspired rhythmic patterns help create a real weight of sound, wrapped in grit and integrity and escaping the trappings of Nu-Metal by avoiding the woe is me aspect. American accenting in the vocals comes from obvious influences, the occasional break due to the emotional weight of the lyrical narrative adding charm rather than being a distraction and the combination of punches and jabs just keeps coming. “Dreamawake” has Fearless Records, third wave of American Metalcore vibes about it, the bold chorus making way for a rap scream confirms there is more power and aggression there to be tapped into if the band want to head in that direction. Anthemic to the last second “The Edge” has an arena filling chorus that is powerful enough to take the band to Warped Tour. It’s a fearfully addictive track with an earworm riff and a raw emotive quality that elevates it, the whirlwind percussion driving it forward as the bass rumbles underneath. A ballad of A Day To Remember proportions in “Ego Death” completes the collection in style as the guitars, bass and drums rise out of an acoustic opening verse in time honoured fashion. A little bit cheesy, the gang chant of “Say there’s good to come!” has the warmth of an American nostalgia trip but the piano finale is what lingers with the final notes [8/10]

Track Listing