Release Date: May 1, 2020 Genre: Post-Hardcore, Metalcore Label: Hopeless Records One of the newest bands on the scene set to rise through the ranks is the metalcore/post-hardcore band, GroundCulture which hail from Newcastle, England. The quintet has delivered their much anticipated ten-track debut record, How Well Do You Know Yourself? The band’s music is meant for the black sheep, the underdogs, the outcasts. This album was created with the purpose of making the outsiders feel seen, heard, and as though they belong. Every single track on How Well Do You Really Know Yourself? was designed by the members of GroundCulture to approach a different angle of an individual’s self-discovery.
The opening track of How Well Do You Really Know Yourself? is the blistering song, “Life Won’t Wait.” As the track opens, vocalist Roy Watson yells the words, “How well do you really know yourself?” I feel this line frames this entire album and begins the thought-provoking dive into the psyche of the human mind that takes place throughout the record. The song mostly covers the topic of how life doesn’t slow down and sometimes you just need a break from it all. “Self-destruction’s the face of a stranger / Life won’t wait / Set your pace and stretch yourself to the changes you’ll make.” “REALEYES” is the album's lead single and opens with an alluring and haunting female voice singing the words, “Don’t wanna wake up,” an element that continues throughout the entire track. “REALEYES” tackles the subject of kicking your subconscious in the teeth and appreciating who you truly are underneath the surface. “You make me wanna find my strength / As I begin to realize I’d been giving up / Nothing matters when you close your eyes / Nothing matters when you realize time’s on your side.”
The album’s second single, “Trauma Can Teach,” continues with the band’s now known boisterous sound and showcases more of their influences in the likes of Architects and The Ghost Inside, in shaping what their sound is today. “Trauma Can Teach,” illuminates the fact that all of our painful experiences hold immense value and power when faced properly. “It’s not gospel / For I search in the darkest of corners for moments to feel alive / Find something to believe in / All this stress is my vector for suffer spent.”
GroundCulture leave their tempestuous energy behind them to close out How Well Do You Really Know Yourself? On the penultimate track, “Dream Like a Child,” the band brings the tone down for a post-hardcore track featuring, Philip Strand, the frontman of the pop/rock band, Normandie. Ending off, How Well Do You Really Know Yourself? is the beautiful acoustic track, “1974.” Leaving you with the final message of loving your true self after having you ask yourself, “How Well Do You Really Know Yourself?” during the album's duration of thirty-seven minutes.