The fourth full-length from this Richmond based based who hails from the same scene as City of Caterpillar and pg 99. They were once called Kilgore Trout, and now they are banging out so dynamically violent tunes that offer a manic depressive mood swing over the course of the first track. I would say they fall closer to hardcore than metal, as they are not too unlike early Converge. Sure, there is a chug here and there, but you can say that about many hardcore bands. They mellow out into a strum going into "Enmiserate"; it flows more like 90s emo. The vocals are screamed with a great deal of anguish. The melody carried by the guitars makes it an interesting song. The sung vocals in the background make for a suitable tribute to 90s emo. Midway into it they lash out with an effective thrashing.
"Song For November' felt a bit likea breakdown for the previous song so I had to go back and give it another listen. This also means that thesongs are pulling from similar sonic shades; the syncopation is the main thing that sets it apart. The darker melodic shift helps to establish this song's identity. They explode into a furious burst of snarling to bring it t o a boil. "Ganymede " works off a subtle palm-muted tension. It's the instrumental you never guessed this album needed.
They rage back to life for "Freedom From Pain". Even here they wander off into some more speculative moments, which makes the build-up into a more powerful chug effective. "Greater Darkness" is more of a punk power ballad, with vocals expelled emotions in a few different ways.. I will give this album a 9.5 it'sa geat deaql of fun, not being a slave to the era it pays tribute to as they find their own path here.
Thi band beat out Sanguisugabogg in 2023 to claim the number one spot on the Top 10 Extreme Metal albums list, thus earning a spot on that year's Top 10 Metal Albums list, making expectations high for this album..Unless the title track is an anomaly, they are less extreme this time around, and leaning into the more screamo side of what they do. With grooving riffs and lyrics that are speculating about religion. There is a hint of nu-metal in the riffing, but that was always a thing in metalcore. "Sissy Haat Machine" is a little more straightforward.
A cool bass line leads the way into the darker "The Anti-Christ's Testimony". The riff is also more memorable than the previous song's. They have an angular style that balances melody with dissonance. Their drummer is pretty impressive, throwing in double bass in tasteful little spots rather than hitting you with a full-on assault and numbing you out. The screamo feel is dialed up for a "Crisis of Realization". The sung hook is even more emo than anything we have heard from them before. The proggy tension of "Apostates and Gentiles" works really well.
"Plath vs Kafka Vs Romance" is lyrically the intersting so far; the sung vocals are less 90s emo. There's a hardcore punch that puts them more in league with Dillenger Escape Plan. I like the more melodic moments of "I Dreamt I Survived an Extinction Event".The more screamed sections work as well, in this context. I am obviously not opposed to harsh vocals done right 'Carrion Birds on the Ark" has a great breakdown toward the end, but some moments are not as memorable. It balances out to be decent enough to not feel like filler. Aside from the opening track, they keep all the songs at a compact three-minute range, which is impressive considering what they pack into them,
They close the album with the marginally darker "Cherub Rock of Gibraltar". It has a cool creeping feel. Despite the slight shift in intensity that makes it more progressive screamo than the more intense feel of the previous album, the concept here is intriguing and will likely make me come back and dig into this one for deeper listens. Sure it's a little more accessible in some way, but more challenging lyrically, so I will give this a 9.5, putting it on par with the previous album. It drops August 28th on Prosthetic Records
It's been made clear over the years that one of my favorite bands from the late 90s is Planesmistakenforstars, and this trio follows a similar emotional path that might be a little more married to punk than the misery Planes brough later in their careers. Depending on what moment you are at on any given song, the notable influences might also include Hot Water Music and the Get Up Kids. They don't get into anything explosive enough to be hardcore adjacent until "Foam Cup pt3". They also touch on this kind of energy with 'Sunburn". Even in the compact arrangement written they cram a great deal of dynamics into it.
The beginning experimenting in a manner more Cursive on "Paris , WI" which is all emotion with the piano and trumpet replacing the instrumentation of punk. It almsot feels more like an interlude, but reminds you of a time when bands experimented more. "Unarrest Me" has a more Fugazi-like bass line. When everything kicks in, it's more frantic and chaotic but highly effective. The vocals are howled with more tension as it's about having a run-in with the cops. "Debilitated" works off a burly bass line but is the least hooky and most confrontational song thus far.
They return to their more adventurous melodic side with "Juneberry." which brings Bright Eyes to mind, as it crosses over into indie rock. The guitar takes on a country twang at the outskirts of the song. They toss aside all restraint fwhen they lunge into "Cages," though they shift the dynamics after the initial temper tantrum. You can hear how a band like Converge would have come from this scne. Despite the last song 'Pray for Peace' unleashed a more feral vocal performance and a great deal of drive, it is very deliberate and never finds its feet, flying out from under it. Even the blast beats work in the dynamic spectrum of where they have taken you. . I will give this a 9.5, as it's almost perfect in how it takes you back to the late 90s but retains it's identity through experimentationDrops on Death Wish Inc.
This British screamo band brings a great deal of sonic space and dynamics to their explosive gnashing of teeth. It takes you back to 1999, when this sort of thing was evolving into the force that would take over Myspace. These guys are able to not just scream but also emote. This is a reminder of how these bands carried shoegaze into the scene we have today. Bands like Mineral can be heard in what they are doing here. The second song hits with a more angular chaos, until midway in then the guitar opens up the room to bring the gutwrenching to come with. I have always had a soft spot for when screaming is a counterbalance to clean indie rock guitar.
The shimmering movement of "Day Glow" makes it one of the album's best songs. The vocals just scream alongside it, but provide the needed accents."Bite Marks" feels like the climax of the previous song; it flows well and is dynamic, but doesn't grab me the same. The strum brought to "Breaking Waves" makes me think of Hotwatermusic before it gets more explosive. "A Comfort You Borrow" completes their thought in under two minutes, which is impressive how much they cram in.
There are interesting production choices in the mix of this album that stay true to the era it pays homage to. There are a few melancholic sonic moments in the album, but I would not say it really wanders into anything dark. "A Sure Fire Way to Disappear" offers more introspection and features some Cure-like guitar passages. They sometimes remind me of Thursday in how they bring down the heavier passages while still tempering them with melody on songs like "Rewired Eyes". Though their vocalist does not have the same range and there are no attempts at actually singing, which might have played to their benefit.
If this came out in the late 90s, early 2000s, I would not stop listening to it. Now it does spark some nostalgia, but it does not move me as much."Your Skin is Gold" is one of the album's best songs, as it hooks you in a little more, though not straying greatly from the sonic palette this have been pulling from thus far. The last song is more of an outro, and I would have liked to have heard some of those elements worked into the other songs to bring more sonic colors. Overall, this hit all the heartstrings it needed to and kept the flame alive. I will give it a 9.5.
As genres shift and evolve over the years, it is easy to forget their origins. This is why I was surprised by French screamo band Gros Enfant Mort. They remembered that screamo originated from emo, which was the more melodic and emotive version of hardcore that could be attributed to bands like Rites ofSpring and Sunny Day Real Estate. This album opens more in that vein, though they build things into the explosive intensity of hardcore. At times, they find and intersting middle ground between the two while singing in their native tongue. This makes their music less accessible to Western audiences but true to where they come from.
They reach the halfway mark of "3114" before slowing their feral punk attack into something more thoughtful. Another intersting element to their sound is how they approach the more hardcore side of the spectrum with little of the metallic sharpness, but a more cutting sonic depth that owes nothing to the more Slayer-influenced side of the genre. In fact, it is not surprising that the nuance and jagged clanging they groove on flirt with what Fugazi once did, with taunt bass lines holding the jagged stabs of guitar together. At times, they drift into areas that are a little less focused than the previous songs, arrangement-wise. The staccato verses work well, though.
"L'art de perdre" finds a more atmospheric guitar part as the foundation for them to throw their temper tantrum over. It works, but took a second listen for me to pay attention to what was going on. They are not totally detached from where hardcore is at today, as can be heard in the chaos of "Merci les cendres," that relies more on the math rock collision of the guitar. The stormy tension it creates is effective. They end the album with a more balanced melodic reflection. Though I question the choice of letting everything drop totally out to faint ambiance and trying to build back up from there, as it kills the mometum and makes it feel like two seperate songs. Nevertheless I will give this album an 8.5, as I appreciate what they are doing here sonically.
I have been underwhelmed by what I have heard from this band in the past, but this album has gotten a ton of hype this year, so let's see how it holds up. It is more likea blackened power violence than black metal. There is a heavier sound this time around, and they flip shit around in a zany manner. But there are more riffs, and the bass player is earning their keep. Not as dark as Portrayal of Guilt, but it feels like they are trying to move in that direction. "Flea" is even weirder but also more melodic, and snarled vocals offset the indie rock heart of the song.
"Micah" is a raging screamo ditty that lets the momentum carry it away. "The Weight" lives up to its name with an angry sludge feel, bringing a more deliberate heaviness. It's darker and more bleak, but it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. They continue to try and pass off screamo as black metal on "Serenity," and it is where the tedium starts to set in for me. Liturgy did this sort of thing better. It's funny that the reasons the metal crowd shunned Liturgy, they are now embracing this band for.
The fact that the title track is a thirty-second track of ambient noise says alot about this band. Things continue to take a downward turn with 'Dan's Love Song" which is the most generic noisy shoegazing you can imagine, that borrows too heavily on the woozy sound of My Bloody Valentine. To add insult to injury, they show they are capable of coming up with riffs for "Bodhidharma." However, they fail to follow it up, so songwriting might not be their thing, as cool riffs alone do not a good song make. With "Hallelujah" they kept throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks this time; it's indie folk. The last song finds a more indie rock-like melody, adding to the buzz of the blast beats. They do take more chances on this album, so I understand how some one might get fooled by it , though it is not a black metal album by any stretch of the word. I will give this album an 8; it starts off better than it ends.
I like the tense syncopation that this band opens their bleak new album. The screamed vocals are undecipherable, making the fact that they are from Spain a moot point. It does, however, affect their ability to play black metal, which is more of a feral punk when presented here, with the strongest elements being their ability to let chords ring out and create a more nuanced atmosphere. By the third song, they have established a more GISM-like mood to their brand of chaotic hardcore.
"Monotonia..." fights the urge to go into the night screaming and find a more focused plan of attack through songwriting. They do kick up a great deal of sonic fury in the process. At times, it also reminds me of Converge, but they lack the big riffs and darker melodic experimentations, and instead opt for noise. "Sentirse Solo" has a more frantic punk snarl and locks back into the cooler battery of syncopation while having a burly bass in the backdrop.
"Cruz Vertical" has the first memorable riff, which is joined by a gang vocal that sits in the background. They do make an effort to vary their attack so it is not jsut your ears being pumelled, though the vocals are typical jsut hte same relentless scream. The songs are kept in the grindcore radius of two minutes. The last song they sprawl out into four minutes. It's sonically violent but not the most memorable. However, this album, aside from the vocals, does make an effort to not only be intense but to write actual songs, so I will give it a 9.
This British hardcore band is confrontational, sometimes leaning in an almost spastic noise rock direction, with the clanging dissonance that the guitars attack you with. The first song features guest vocals by Harry Nott of Burner. The vocals are screamed with conviction, sometimes throat breaking into more of a growl, though the metal influences are minimal. I would say this is aggressive without the testosterone of hard-core, yet it's explosive with a hard-core energy.
"Tchotchke" is under two minutes. The vocals are shouted in that old school way that was almost rapped with a breakdown riff that works well. They have the gang vocals you want from 90s hardcore. Things are spastic with their self-justified anger. They have an agenda and a message, which I at least appreciate the fact that they are passionate about something. I can understand that there are people in this world with other viewpoints, and that is fine with me, as I am focused on the music.
"Even an Empire Can Burn" is an atmospheric interlude that sets up the lead single "Even a Worm Can Turn". Did not bother looking up the lyrics, as they are largely incomprehensible in the way they are shouted, with the punchy gang vocals the only part where they stand out. The title track closes out this EP. I wish this were a full-length, so I could see how they might have experimented with that format. Only time will tell. They go to some interesting sonic places in the almost four minutes allotted for this song. I will give this a 9, as the fact that they are so inspired by their cause, but can't articulate what they are trying to say, gnaws at me a bit, but I like the overall sonic vibe they are spitting out.
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The debut from this Canadian band opens with a swell of noisy ambiance, setting the stage for an explosion of screamo intensity against a stark, apocalyptic mood that bears more resemblance to Neurosis. Lighter-sung vocals provide a counterpoint that brings Glassjaw to mind, as they hover over the crushing, sludge-drenched stomp. This is broken up by moments of atmosphere before building to a scathing climax. "Chemical Pattern" is driven by a more frantic punk desperation. "Cancer Sleep" works off a more deliberate catharsis. The screamed vocals are used as a more effective accent here, as low-barked vocals that feel like a staple of sludge also surface. The wide array of vocal colors plays to this album's strengths.
The pace picks up into a more urgent strum on "Nothing Else Frail," the vocals occupying a more hardcore-like place in the song. They ease things down from the higher energy tension to create a wider scope of dynamics for the song. "Amherst" employs sung vocals over a more haunting atmosphere that is sure to raise comparisons to Deftones. The explosive outburst in the song is more volatile than anything the nu-metal godfathers have done in recent years. "Mercy Death" carries more dissonance in its stomp, the vocals offering a more ambient texture to create an interesting sonic dynamic. Where the chorus would fall, there is a screamed outburst.
"Fucking Hell" finds the two polarities they craft their sound with clashing more than blending, perhaps because the harsher tones are heavier and the more melodic vocals are mellower. To my ears, it doesn't sound as focused, but perhaps that's what they were going for, and by the fourth listen, it might fall into place. "Fighter Valley" benefits from a cool vocal melody that, while it's introspective, still creates a melodic backbone for them to toy with. It's darker than some of the heavier moments. It is my favorite song on this album.
It would have amused me if the song called "Violence' had a ballad; instead, there are bizarre moments that remind me of Today is the Day, with a Myspace era emo chorus thrown in, though less anthemic. Interesting production choices that create a personality for the sound. Like many of the songs in the album's third act, the last song took a few listens to process the chaotic catharsis that unfolds. Deliberate chord progressions create a downtrodden mood that anchors the song. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me, think like that it's an emotionally dark landscape that paints a visceral picture in your ears.
This band plays an angular, dissonant style of noisy screamo. The guitar tones are organic without the processed distortion of the dense metal sound, and the screamed vocals add to the chaos of the songs. The vocals are sometimes more layered than others, with a more sung punk in the background. The first two songs run together, meaning that even in the swirling class of guitars that is their sound, there is a certain uniformity to their sound. "With Empty Promises and Loaded Guns" they are still attacking from a similar sonic place, though backing off of it to allow the song more room to breathe and atmosphere to develop to create the dynamics to explode out of. You can hear them coming from the more emo side of the screamo equation here.
This is the band's second album, so they know what they are doing here. Then they pick up the pace for "Gaia Wept," which does not favor their songwriting. Sure, there is a cool riff that comes in here, but the rule here is "cool riffs does not a good song make". 'Clementine' crosses over into the more pop punk side of emo, but it's tense, melodic, and brooding, which works for me. They throw themselves in a grindcore-like frenzy with "The Radiant Apostasy." They rein themselves in for the song's more melodic ending. "Heaven Here" is not the first use of a piano on this album, but the instrument is most dominant in this moment. It feels more like an interlude than a song, but at over three minutes, it is longer than many of the album's songs.
"Longinus' finds them back in the jarring mode of screamo that feels like their true persona. I do like that they are willing to take you on a sonic adventure and color things with different sounds. More often than not, their experimentation works. They do find a few melodies for 'The Rotting Pair," though the mood is emotionally confrontational more often than not. "In the Valley of Weeping" opens with a wrathful racing pulse then ebbs into more melodic speculation. I think these more melodic part are the area they should grow into, though not sacrificing a great deal of their spastic edge.
"Lamb Without Fold' leans more in the direction of more rabid screaming. "Your New Curse" also follows a similar direction. "Hostel Elysia" finds them at the crossroads where emo met with what would be now known as post-rock, so a more ambient form of introspective indie rock. Shimmering guitar containing the screaming is their best choice for dynamic contrasts. I'll give this album an 8.5 . I am sure it will get some hype and coverage by members of the press prone to celebrate a band that uses pronouns, but when it comes to music with identity politics aside, they are good at what they are doing here, it's a fun album that proves screamo still has life left in it. This drops on 3DOT Recordings June 6th.
This wild ride opens with a loungy ditty featuring iRis,EXE, which does throw itself into a more dissonant heaviness. "Subtle Whispers to Take Your Breath Away" finds them in a more kinetic grooving take on hardcore that is not unlike Callous Doaboys sonically, though leaning in a more Myspace-influenced era of sound. There is an equal balance of sass and substance. The breakdowns are not delivered predictably, though the hooks are poppy enough to conform to expectations in this regard. They cram a great deal into these three-minute ditties. They do get a little happy for my tastes on the anthemic "And the Two Slipped into the Shadows", though the pop-punk moments are more tolerable than what other artists that dabble in the genre do. At times it sounds like grindcore with Panic at the Disco production. I can understand both what people might like about these guys, as well as what metal heads might not like about them.
"Red Wine and Discontent" keeps a hushed romantic tension that they fire back against with their bouncy take on punk. The sung vocals offer catchy melodies. They jerk you are with the fun-house flavored riffing. "Lubricant Like Kerosene" thumps with a disco-like groove, while they carry a more metalcore aggression at the same time. They prove that their spastic theatrics of sound, do not keep them from writing a compact catchy song on "Silhouettes in Motion". This is not to say they are immune from allowing chaos to disrupt all the moving pieces in motion, as this is what happens with "To the Dance Floor For Shelter".
They are back to a dance-inducing groove with "Rhythm and Rapture". Dancey emo groove are once again their strength on "Sister With a Gun" triffs and they once again balance sugary melodies with stomping riffs and angry screams. "Chewing the Scenery" feels like the pop-punk formula that they often default to has worn thin, but they incorporate enough quirky elements to make it work again on the last album, I will give this one a 9.5, as it's ambitious but pulls of the chaos and hooks in equal measure.
Their last album "Twin Dream" made it known that these guys are one of the best heavy bands going. More darkness and melody from the opening track of this album gave me even higher hopes. I have avoided singles allowing me to go into this with fresh ears. On "Nothing Touches You" the screamed vocals offset what might otherwise be creepy bass-driven shoe-gaze. They get feral and in your face for "Defacer" to deface your eardrums. The anguish of the vocals is tangible. I am also not going to ignore the fact the sung vocals that appear on this album are more thoughtful, and this is coming on the heels of their last album scoring a 10 and being the number 7 album on our top 10 metal albums of 2021. The bar is high, and this band is killing it.
"Ritualist" is beautiful no matter the genre they are defying. The way the vocals sit is incredible. The guitar makes a swathe of sound closer to what you expect from a post-rock band, while the bass and drum keep a downtrodden doomy pulse. The album's harshest moment yet comes with " As My Heart Rots" which finds them not only lashing out but tapping into some deep emotional unrest. They take another turn toward black metal on "Circle Down". This is black metal by way of screamo.
Then on the last song, they prove they can just straight-up write catchy weird indie rock flavor screamo. The overall songwriting is even more refined. It's not as accessible as what Deafheaven did with "Sunbather" but they could win over the same demographics if put in front of larger audiences. Though none of this is contrived or thought out from a marketing perspective by a record label this is just where they are, perhaps even angrier than the previous album though there is a wide range of emotional colors being used here. I will give this album a 10.
This band has more hype going into this album than Infant Island, who is the screamo band to beat so far this year. To which Frail Body fans might cry, about music not being a competition. Yes, it is. Bands are competing for the free time I have to listen to music, which is a finite commodity. I like the sounds this Illinois-based band is bringing to the table, but the production is rawer and not as spacious as Infant Island's. There is also a fair amount of chaos to this band's explosive nature. The screamed vocals are another abrasive sonic texture, they are not as purposeful as many bands in the genre. This causes the second song to not hit as hard.
"Critique Programme" has a more polished mix and an arrangement that makes the most of their atmospheric underpinnings. The vocals sound like a child with rabies attacking the cat who gave it to him. The overall dynamics of the song work well as they expand and retract. There is less of a black metal influence in this album than I expected going into it. "Devotion" makes more of an impact as it's more melodic and the singer goes for a more hardcore punk shout rather than the shrieking that dominated the first three songs. More bands could take notes on this kind of restraint. The album begins a tug of war-in order to find balance. Where "Monolith" lashes out like a petulant child, there is more thought, nuance, and dynamics to "Refrain" which shows how effective restraint can be for them as a band.
The more hardcore side of their equation that works off equal doses of tension and atmosphere in order to make the climaxes pay off is where this band shines. The temptation to lash at out more of a frantic punk speed becomes to great to resist in places. Some of the more organic guitar sounds on this album work really well, though it's when things slow down that you can pay attention to them rather than have them rushed by you. The calm before the storm instrumental that is "Another Year Removed" might have worked better if those ideas were used to keep some of the album's more spastic songs in check. The first two and a half minutes of the last song feel obnoxious, though the simmer-down sound are also not too song-oriented, but they are capable of ambiance. So not as demanding of my time as Infant Island, but fans of Screamo will appreciate it. Out on Deathwish inc.
Infant Island roars into a more metallic vision of screamo with the opening track that is also balanced with a post-rock atmosphere. "Fulfilled" finds things lashed out in a more chaotic frenzy with an almost power-violence-like abandon. "Found Hand' is an ambient interlude that leads into the crazed assault that is "Clawing Still". This is on the more extreme end of screamo. It more than likely appeals less to fans on the emo side of that equation. It builds into the shimmer of wild screaming. I wonder if he is even trying to utter lyrics at this point. "Veil" is more deliberate. This provides the kind of dynamic shift we need to make something this unsettled to have melodic value, which they manage to do. Even hardcore gang vocals chime in on the song.
"Amaranthine" starts off with a delicate beauty. Then it erupts in the explosion of screaming that you might expect to come. They control this with a more focused metal attack. "With Shadow" offers the kind of dynamic twist I enjoy where there are screamed vocals over really pretty music. "Unrelenting" lives up to its title. This however beats your ear drums rather than evolving into a compelling song. The breathing room this song does give you is sparse. "Kindling" finds the melody returning with faintly sung vocals starting things off. Their mastery of the quiet before the storm is very effective. They linger there for the right amount of time to create a false sense of security to jerk you back in for another soaring propulsion of tangible emotion. It reminds me a little of some of the more bleeding-heart depressive black metal bands in how the tortured pleas call out over the guitar.
The perfect balance of brutality against the more soul-baring glimpses at the complex splattering of abstract emotions invoked here is what makes the guitars flagellating your ear drums worthwhile. There is not a twist to the ending of this album, as it follows the course they have already laid before. It sums up what they are about in 2024. It is cohesive with who they have been as a band up to this point in their careers, and fans of the previous work will find this takes what they do and places it on a darker canvas with sharper colors. I will give this album a 9.5, it is heavy music that is lavish yet real, some may see this as the band's "Sunbather", but is an artistic swathe of contradictions that falls into place just as the band intended. There is grace in the bloody mess made here.
This band shifts from black gaze to more melodic forms of hardcore and harsher expressions of metal. Their singer is a pivotal force in what enables these transformations. The second song starts off even more melodic until the more hard-core shouted vocals bring the abrasion crashing against the transcendence. After this song they even dip their combat boots into pop punk. That is littered oddly with blast beats. It is not the first time I have heard screamo blended with black metal, but this is done in an angular fashion that is more unique. "All Towers Drawn in..." is more explosive and finds their feral gnashing of teeth touch on a darker more Full of Hell-like fury. I like the way they bring dissonance in. It creates a soul-wrenching bleakness.
They continue to lash out in more of a hard-core fashion with "Obliesk of Hands". The light poppy touch of the vocals in the chorus takes some of the string out, though I think what these more melodic moments do is provide the needed dynamic contrast that allows the more venomous sections greater impact to bite your ears. "It Will Hurt, and You Won't Get to be Surprised" opens with a more post-rock passage that becomes more scathing once the vocals come in. This song finds them digging into some of the album's heaviest riffs. "Reverberations of a Sickly Wound" is an instrumental that lingers over an ambient landscape. Things get moving again with "Blighttown Type Beat". The vocals in the more shouted yet spoken post-Myspace style punk.
"Body Fountain' is brief and punches in a manner with more in common with Converge. The last two songs are their longest at over six and a half minutes each. Melodic vocals contrast the dark brooding hypnotic flow of the sludge slow riffs that ring with post-rock shimmer. It is heavier sonically than it is heavy metal until things start to slowly combust as it builds. The last song works off the more screamo side of what they do and takes that into more intense and heavier places than other bands of that genre muster. I will give this album a 9.5, I think it's an excellent step in an original direction while working with sounds from familiar genres, more heavy bands could take note of what is going on here.
These guys formed in 1997 making the legit old-school screamo. They have more in common with hardcore than how screamo is defined today. They took a 17-year break then put out a comeback album and this is now officially a thing again, as this marks their second release since reforming, and their first with the addition of Sean Leary from Loma Prieta on guitar. They have not lost any of the intensity. The feedback still screeches. They have a sound but are capable of writing songs. As with any form of extreme music sometimes the momentum of their sonic heaviness can carry them away as we begin to hear on the second song, which does not benefit from the kind of arrangement they compose on "South By Isolation" . The guitars create a dense wall of sound for the screaming vocals to throw themselves against.
There is more dynamic nuance on "Pines on the Hill" . They are still pretty explosive , but the contrasting sound give the more feral section a space to launch themselves from. The vocals are emotive , but sound like an obligatory human element when you stop to ponder the story they are telling. At almost four minutes it gives them more time to explore rather than their more compact punk style of writing. There is a piano interlude after this song that I am not counting in terms of this review. "AAEEAA" works off a tightly syncopated riff. The arrangement works off a simple formula but proves to be effective. There is room for the song to breathe. The riff to "On Holiday With Infinity" stars off with a similar stomp, but then things get blasty. Not as interesting as the song before it.
The more spastic explosion that is "the Future of Memory" works off the kinetic energy it expels. The frantic chaos does have form and function. Not the best song on the album, but I can appreciate where they are going with it. "Often Oceans" is an instrumental, that while it utilizes cool guitar tones, never turns into anything, so feels more like an interlude. If some of those elements had been combined with what they do in the last song, both songs would have benefited from the experimentation. I get what they are going for on the last song, but think a little more dynamics would have been the way to go. I will give this a 9, as these guys know what they are doing, what they are doing could have resonated more with me in a few places, but I think they accomplished what they set out to do with every ounce of their souls invested in it. If you like screamo this is a must.
Let it go on records I am reviewing albums as fast as I can down here in Florida, but it is hard to resist when I have been looking forward to the albums I am being sent. This French hard-core band is ready to live up to the anticipation for their newest album bringing all the explosive energy and urgent emotional catharsis. The shouted vocals are very serious even though their anguished screams at time sound more like punk than what we think of as hard core today, but the term hardcore, used to be hard core punk, and this is a good example of what that is, while not just sticking to the most commonplace blueprint. The sonic passages, feel more like what screamo bands have been doing over the past twenty years. Even in the fact of all the intensity they are expelling in these outbursts, they have still crafted dynamic, melodic songs.
There are equal amounts of emotion, poured into the guitar riff as the vocals. When they step on the gas, they do not fall into the common placed trap of making the song feel rushed. The acceleration is tied to the unleashed tension. The lyrics are sometime buried in the overall picture. Aside from that the mix is stellar and the vocals were mixed back into the guitar intentionally. The drums also sound great. Lots of clarity and separation in the mix. "Confettis' find things opening up more for the vocals to have room. " Noah" recoils back into an almost post-punk like tension. The vocals are spoken rather screamed. The lyrics are very clever to this one. It sounds like how the looming storm looks in the sky outside my window. "Cathedrals" seems to run off the momentum built in the previous song. The bass playing in this song is pretty amazing.
"Nypheas" like most of this album tackles the mental issues that were brought to light when forced to sit with oneself in isolation. It goes from in your face aggressive to almost anthemic. The half time break down feel is very effective here. It is album's more melodic touches that make the punk rowdiness work better as the sphere of dynamics is balanced out. Having been around in the 90s for the rise of emotional hard core, I can say this album gives me similar feeling as to when I heard those early albums by bands like Converge and Hot Water Music when they came out. His actual singing has improved on the few songs where those surfaces. Things get a great deal darker and heavier with "Rodin". The deliberate pounding is very impressive. They continue to break things up jangling guitars and more thoughtful vocal passes with "Winter Yet" which has an almost jazz like feel at times. Some of the nuanced interplay between the bass and drums, proves what great musicians these guys are. They do not need mathematic acrobatics but work of jerking grooves. This album is without a doubt a 10 and a must for anyone who wants emotional hard core with a sense of adventure/.
This album by the screamo veterans opens with a blending of atmosphere, emotion and intensity that I have not heard since Planesmistakenforstars were around. The build the explosion rather than being as overt and formula bound as the kids who followed in their footsteps. They use chaos rather than relying on unlocking a certain guitar sound. The second song find them with the kind of calculated musical mess that Fugazi used to create for themselves in their rowdier early days. "Decider" finds them more aggressive and lashing out in the violent manner we more commonly think of as screamo now. I appreciate what they are doing here, it really just depends on where my head is at as to if I want to hear something this energetic. I prefer their darker more brooding side. Even the swirl of chaos channeled via guitar has its appeal. Midway into the song they do rein it in for more of an emo tension.
The title track finds the band simmering in the ambiance for a slow build into the song. It is mainly an instrumental that does use vocals in the last two of its seven minutes. "Manchester" is a very effective blend of all their sonic moods into a cohesive song. Surprisingly what I like about this version of hard core is it has very little in-common with the more metallic variety. Instead, it works off sonic intensity, which is the part that should be less surprising if you are a regular reader here. "Voiceless Prophets" puts them closer to the noise rock caterwaul of bands like the Jesus Lizard. The angular disjointed spasms emitted from the instruments is another collected chaos. In under seven minutes the band is capable of taking you on a journey most of today's prog bands cannot muster. The vocals are sung in a throaty howl. Sometimes closer to singing than others.
They get a little more aggressive on " In the Birth of a Fawn". The vocals are exclaimed more forcefully, though the guitars still carry a great deal of melody to them. The last song "Ascension Theft" starts off with post-rock like guitar minimalism. Many of the post-rock bands of today have evolved from what bands like these guys were doing in the early 2000s. The vocals do not come in until midway into the song. It goes into some really unexpected places, thus showcasing their range as a band. I will give this a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. While it feels like a label such as Deep Elm should be releasing it, the task has been put upon by Relapse Records for doing so.
Their 2018 album "No Hell" earned the 6th place slot on the 2018 top 10 hardcore / punk albums of the year list. This time around they have a new singer which has taken things in a rowdier rock direction. He is more impressive on the first song than the second, though they have retained the kind of Refused like anger that was explosive on the previous album. Their overall sound is heavier and has more of metallic edge than the previous album. Kvelertak without the black metal inspiration would be another sonic point of reference here and gives a better idea where the new singer's vocal stylings lean more towards. With titles like "Cyrptfucker" they have listened to a few metal albums in their day.
There is more of a palm muted tension to "Brand New Everything". The more aggressive vocal takes this time around, does give everything a more uniform feel as they are always dialed to 11. The more interesting angular side of the band does not emerge until four songs in, the guitars open up and add more atmosphere and room for the songs to breathe on "Here Ends the Roads and Days". Which is also an instrumental, so the vocals might want to give things more space instead of being in your face all the time. Thing go into a more thrashing frantic mania with the stormy tension barely lurking in the background when they get to " Big City Shotgun". This goes to show I am ok, with being aggressive and the screamed vocals, it is all in how you pull it off. I had to listen to "7 Trumpets in Astoria". All the elements of what they do are in place, they just have to change up the attack some, over all it works well. Though at just a minute in they have twisted the riffs around so much it is overwhelming and hard to tell where you are at, but at least it is not boring.
There is more of a late 90s scream feel to "One Day You Will Control the Birds:" Lyrically this might be the most interesting song on the album. The title track finds the pace picking up and things becoming more frantic. There is no shortage of explosive on this album, so it really depends on what you are looking for here. When it ebbs down, he is still screaming so, the dynamics kind of go sideways. I will give this an 8.5, which puts it shoulder to shoulder with their previous album, but it is a different direction thanks to the new singer.
This Atlanta bands brings a spastic brand of screamo, that works in mathy passages amid the chaos. I can appreciate the weirdness being kicked around here. Is Mr. Bungle by way of Dillenger Escape Plan an influence? Sure. Is vocalist Carson Pace a singer of the same caliber of Mike Patton or even Greg Puciato? No screaming is his primary love language. He does sing in sparse bursts, but I get the impression he could be a decent singer if he sharpened this tool more. By the second song the looming problem with the album is foreshadowed when I am a minute into the second song, before I realize it is the second song. Meaning for all their quirk, the songs sound the same. Yeah, there is a heavy break down in the second song, and it evolves into a cool groove, but the over feel is uniform. Even as they try to abandon the conventional songwriting formula, becomes a formula in and of itself. The bands that excel at this are able to do both.
It only takes me 38 seconds to realize "Beautiful Dude Missile " is not a continuation of the previous song. They do prove themselves capable enough musicians to work in varied genres outside of screamo. "Title Track" which is the name of the song, not the title track, it works of a glitched out temper tantrum of syncopated punches until settling into a palm muted groove. The female vocals harmonizing works really well and is perhaps his best vocal line thus far on the album. It is also one of the album's most accessible moments. A minute and ten seconds into "Field Sobriety Test" I realize it is not the previous. It is more spastic and the guitar chugs harder. The drummer has typically been more impressive than the guitarists. The bass player hides in the background, which is a big difference from these guys and Mr Bungle.
The guitars attack you more in the twitching onslaught that is "the Elephant Man in the Room". It conforms more to the expectations of progressive metal for today's metal kids. The jazzy guitar passages are cool, but the spastic nature of the song consumes it. "What is Delicious? Who Swarms?" follows a path not far removed from the previous song though more compelling melodic elements are introduced as the song progresses. "Star Baby" is more of temper tantrum. The poppy middle section of the song works really, and I would almost prefer to hear more of that. This album was a lot of fun, there are songs that had my attention more than others, but I think they are effective at what they do. I will give this album a 9, as the uniform nature of the spasms keep being perfect, but it is a success on many other levels.
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