Bosse De Nage : "All Fours"

One of the more experimental USBM bands. The first songs sounds just as much like the Deftones as it does black metal. The guitar tone is more organic. The album sounds great. There is a thick sonic wall that hits you and they are impressive right out the gate leaving you to wonder if they can keep this up for an entire album.There is more of a Deafheaven like post-hardcore inspired metal drone to "the Industry of Distance". Not as strong as the first song, but pretty intense as it doesn't let you up for air. They have a similar attack, but with a few more blast beats on " a Subtle Change" which follows. They hit all the classic sweeping triumph of USBM riffs with a wink to punk rock tossed in for good measure. The drummer keeps the chaos moving and has some insane flurries here.

We are taken back to the post-hard core of 98 on "Washerwoman" . They are good at recreating this very Appleseed Cast like sound, before they explode into a more metallic spasm. 'In a Yard Somewhere" finds the band back in a more straight ahead path at least for the sort of sonic warfare they normally engage in. The vocals take on that static white noise like Deafheavens where there is just a layer of screaming. They slow into a few good grooves along the way.

They go back to a more black metal place on " To Fall Down". It blasts away with a sublime coating to it's snarl. When it breaks down into the bass thump it goes back to that 90s indie rock place. About five minutes in when it blasts back to its angry place it begins to make me zone out on it and seems less engaging than some of the other songs on this album. The album closes with the ten minute " The Most Modern Staircase" as song that is bigger on atmosphere than the sort of heaviness normally thought of in regards to black metal. The riffs glide along once the songs comes out of the slower intro. It is another song that lends itself to zoning out to so you might not be as fully engaged as you were earlier in the album. Not to say that there is not a pay off for some of the drone. The metal bursts back in at the two and a half minute mark. The tormented howls are not the same kind of harsh screams associated with this kind of thing.

I will give these guys credit as this is well executed and falls in like with the current landscape of post- blackmetal,so despite not being blown away there were some surprises so I will give this one an 8.5.