One Step Closer - All You Embrace

There comes a point where Revolution Summer worship just won't cut it anymore. Or where world-weary resignation snuffs out any lingering youth crew exuberance. It's a tale as old as time for hardcore bands, many of which burn bright and burn out faster. After all, there are only so many Youth of Today, Chain of Strength, or Minor Threat records to go through until the well runs dry – meaning bands need to grow up fast, find their own identity and flex their musical muscle in more taxing and exciting ways.

It's perhaps even more challenging when your debut full-length – so indebted to this codified sound – is an absolute monster, like One Step Closer's brilliant full-length debut 'This Place You Know'. It means 'All You Embrace' has a lot riding on it for the band as they forge their own identity and a hell of a lot to live up to as it tries to stand on the shoulders of its predecessor.

Mercifully, 'All You Embrace' retains all of what made 'This Place You Know' great; it's urgent, driven and passionate, and even when swathes of melody wash through it, the songs remain rooted in the group's heritage. The opening salvo – 'Color You' and 'Dream Again' – are prime examples, where the bones of the songs are unmistakably East Coast hardcore. Indeed, 'All You Embrace' has the same accessible sheen that made the Movielife's 'This Time Next Year' so groundbreaking, marrying pop-nous and accessibility but ensuring it remains authentic and tethered to the group's history.

But One Step Closer aren't standing still with 'All You Embrace'. By collaborating with outside help (including Citizen's Kat Kerekes and Knocked Loose's Isaac Hayes), they've helped identify what they want to achieve and tapped into experienced heads to help them get there. Even the order of the album is there to help the listener through this shift. If the opening salvo is nicely dressed hardcore, then the closing couple of songs – the outstanding 'Giant's Despair' and 'So Far From Me' – are next-level alt-rock anthems.

It's perhaps easy to dismiss hardcore as derivative – and traditionally, this view would have held weight. One band breaks the mould, and a flood of similar acts follow. This helps create a scene and foster unity, but it means boundaries are rarely broken. With 'All You Embrace', One Step Closer have achieved the near impossible and now stand out as hardcore pioneers.