Band : Campus
Album title : Oh, Comely!
Label : Funtime Records
Distributor : Suburban
Release date : 26/05/2010
Release : CD

Having come across this Tessenderlo based Belgian before for two reviews (their self-released 2007 5-track mini-album Inside The Mind Of A Serial Killer and their official label debut We Are The Silence) posted 24/02/2008 and 09/05/2008 (respectively), I know that’s where you can find more info on the band’s past. As for what happened in between the release of their previous album and the current one, I’m afraid that due to little info available I’ll have to be short. The band apparently toured a lot alover Europe, played on some of the bigger festivals, and played support to some of the bigger bands in the music business. Also, there was an exchange in the line-up (don’t know when, don’t know why) when guitarist Nick Rondou replaced Laurens Thoung.

Recordings for the new album started February 11 at Oosterlede’s Farmhouse Studios with Ace Zec(check Death Before Disco, The Setup, Customs, and quite a few more) at the knobss. Besides having a lot of fun with their producer, the boys were already happy with how the album sounded before it was even mixed, and with the finished product in the cd-player I can tell you the sound is really splattering good! While in the studio, the band made some video footage, which they made available through their website campusofficial.com (however, you have to have the “secret code” to enter the site - just buy the new CD and it’s in your possession). At myspace.com/campusbe, one talks about Oh Comely! “…perfectly translating another evolution in a musical outlet…”, and by jolly that is certainly true! You can hear that immediately in the more atmospheric passages that pop up here and there. Oh, don’t worry,Campus is still your excellent Hardcore-meets-Metalcore-meets-some-Emo band as you knew them before…the band’s just gotten even better at expressing both their aggressive and calmer sides, melting it all in perfectly catchy melodies!

Check it out for yourself: the band posted 3 songs off the new album oin their MySpace page! My personal appreciation of the album already sufficient with the debut to put the band in my 2008 year-lists, I ain’t doin’ any less this time!

98/100

Tony.