Recently up and coming hardcore act Heights made a very strange u-turn in terms of their direction. After releasing two free singles in the shape of the These Street/Gold Coast split, things looked like they were on the up for the band until they made the surprise move to kick out their lead singer Thom Debaere. The fan base went into shock over the sudden decision especially after the release of the excellent split single. The band released a statement saying that the rest of the group had been feeling that Debaere was not on the same path musically that the rest of the band were. They literally performed a coup on the poor guy! The next move by the band shocked everyone even further. They put bassist Alexander Montgomery on vocal duties. Heights is Dead is a short song they released to give the fans a taste of what was to come.

Montgomery’s vocals are almost identical to Debaere’s however Mongomery’s have a slightly more raw and angry sound. As he squeals “Death married me, I’ll be the best man I can be” there is definitely a sense of a lot more sadness and morbidness compared to their old sound which was angrier and more vicious. The guitars play quick chords before going into long held chords that give off a sense of sorrow. Oddly the vocals are only used during the silence with the chords playing in their own time. This gives the vocals a far more raw sound to them without any instruments to distort them.

It may have been a bit of a cruel move to usurp Thom in the way that they did (and then make it public) but the new sound that Heights are going for is very appealing. I look forward to their new album and their new direction.