The Armored March

Oh, Sleeper announce their melodic metalcore intentions with this debut five-song EP, and though the Fort Worth, TX, quintet know all the right moves -- stylistically speaking -- it's impossible to tell whether they'll amount to contenders or pretenders in this incredibly cluttered scene. Disturbingly, none of the largely cliché-ridden first three offerings here seems to promise much of anything, getting bogged down in riffing technique and seemingly pseudo-religious lyrics at times, but the final tandem of "The Siren's Song" and "We Are the Archers" suddenly spread unforeseen melodic wings and throw out some instant hooks besides -- a sign that Oh, Sleeper may yet amount to something. [All five of this EP's tracks were later incorporated into Oh, Sleeper's full-length debut, When I Am God.]