Self Deception have learned a lot since their previous album. A lot about song structure, anthems and how to tailor songs that can transfer from a studio output to a live setting. The band have incorporated multiple genres into their seventh studio album, One Of Us, but stay firmly on the path of electronic-core. While they aren’t reinventing the wheel the band have put their own spin of it, even if it’s ever so slightly.
Opening with the title track of the album, it sets the tone for the rest of the album. Catchy, anthemic, riff laden and built for a live experience. While One Of Us is entwined with a hardcore feel, it almost sounds like modern day Hollywood Undead with aggressive instrumentals and vocals
‘Time’s Up’ is where the catchy songs come in. The synth work cutting through the guitar work from Ronny Westphal works beautifully with Clark’s vocals building an intense atmosphere that only lapses when the song reaches its end. As upbeat and gut punching as the entire album is,’ Don’t B E L O N G’ shows its vulnerable side with themes of addiction and mental health, the darker tones within the song are portrayed disturbingly
Static Dress feel impossible to ignore. Even before Injury Episode dropped, there was already a clear sense of anticipation around the record, helped by the band’s strong visual identity and reputation for making post-hardcore feel dramatic, emotional and larger than life. A lot of bands try to create that kind of impact and end up hiding weak songwriting behind aesthetics. Static Dress are one of the few where the music actually justifies it. The album constantly pulls in different directions. Some songs are ugly and chaotic in the best way possible, packed with abrasive riffs and that frantic early 2000s post-hardcore energy that Static Dress wear proudly on their sleeve. Other moments feel way bigger and more emotional, leaning into atmosphere and melody without losing the tension underneath it all.
When the heavier moments land, they hit hard. Tracks like ‘questioning’ and ‘Male-bomb’ feel suffocating and volatile, like they are constantly on the edge of falling apart. Olli Appleyard sounds incredible throughout the record too. His vocals have always been one of the band’s biggest strengths, but there is a confidence here that makes everything feel sharper. Even the cleaner hooks still sound desperate and human rather than overly polished. At the same time, Injury Episode isn’t afraid to slow things down and let songs breathe. ‘Adapter’ and ‘…hospice’ bring in cleaner textures and more space, giving the album some genuinely beautiful moments without ever drifting too far away from the band’s heavier roots.
The problem is that sometimes it can feel like too much at once. There isn’t a bad song on the album, which honestly makes this harder to criticise, but the constant shifts between styles can feel jarring across a full listen. At points, Injury Episode almost feels like Static Dress took every unreleased idea they had and pushed it into one project. You can hear the appeal of each individual direction the band explore, but not all of them feel like they naturally belong together on the same record.
Sometimes music is dark. Whether it’s by design or simply a result of the pain and frustration that goes into making it, it’s easy to distinguish but hard to create. There are bands in the UK who, although they technically exist within certain scenes, have managed to craft sounds that bring forth the despair and nihilism that permeates these times of ours. Calligram and Mastiff are two notable examples, existing in black metal and hardcore respectively who have interwoven grinding, sludgy elements into their sound in a way that makes them feel almost uncomfortable to listen to at points. Healing Wound from Brighton are a newer proposition but one that nevertheless fit the mould of dark, angry music that bursts out of its original metalcore (for lack of a better term, this is so much more) shackles and forges a way through more abrasive territories.
On their previous effort, the Failure Will Make Serpents Of Us All EP, the band channelled their venom through a dirgy lens with flourishes of traditional hardcore punk splattered across the tracks. There were as many moments to bang your head and two step as there were parts to grimace and accept the blast that poured over you. Throughout it though, were veins of anger and a scorn at the world that dug into your skin like chipped fingernails and refused to let go, leaving you feeling as if your skin was covered by a layer of detritus (But in the way that all good dark media does) and a less favourable outlook on the world.
Healing Wound aren’t afraid to be ugly. There’s very little in the way of beauty (in the traditional sense anyway) or light in this, their debut full length Bodies Of Heavenly Violence. Indeed, it’s a record that for it’s inspiration, focuses on the dark nature of the human soul and the parts of the world that linger in your thoughts like parasites, dimming your view of this already murky world till it begins to look a bit like PS2 Silent Hill.
The latest release from the Canadian madman Devin Townsend, The Moth, sees him in the role of maniacal conductor, fusing bombastic cinematic orchestral pieces with technical progressive metal and some electronic/industrial flavouring for something truly unique in his extensive back catalogue. More score than album, The Moth sees Townsend team up with the North Netherland’s Orchestra and Choir to create something new and original that deserves recognition for the sheer size and scope of its ambition alone. For fans this album is sure to be divisive, as it’s a big departure from where he usually stands. But then again, this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this. Whilst no stranger to orchestration throughout his storied career this is the first time it has been the base upon which everything is built, and the first time he’s taken such a lead role in the composition. Spending over a decade now since the idea was first floated, learning, practicing and honing the craft before venturing on this project in earnest, Devin Townsend has delivered a record full of intrigue, wonder and emotion, through a medium many fans will be less experienced in.
There’s a bit of everything in this record, it flows from a soft, lilting stream, carrying listeners along a magical journey through to a flooding torrent, sweeping you downstream, and everything in between. It really shines when it leans fully into its spectacular pomp, the ending passages of ‘Ode To My Eye’ into ‘Enter the City’ showcase this in all its glory. It is decadent, over the top a sheer joy to listen to, music that hits right into the soul. The extra vocal collaborations from the likes of Anneka Van Giersbergen and Lynn Wu, of progressive Chinese band Ou, add a softer contrast to the powerhouse of Devin’s own voice, which perhaps more than ever he’s had the opportunity to really stretch on this.
There is something almost overwhelming about how much is happening at any given moment, and yet it never feels careless. Every swell of choir, every thunderous orchestral rise, every strange electronic texture feels like another piece of some enormous, impossible, futuristic yet vintage contraption surging into life. At times it is beautiful, at times it is ridiculous, and often it is both at once, but that has always been part of Townsend’s charm. He can make something sound like the end of the world and a nervous breakdown in a glitter cannon at the same time.
Knives are one of those rare bands that are clearly destined for greatness from the moment they step on stage. Throwing Idles-style modern post-punk into a blender with a hearty dose of hip-hop swagger and blasts of saxophone-fuelled noise, Knives have kept busy over the last couple of years with their debut LP Glitter topping plenty of album of the year lists and their tours with The Callous Daoboys and Ditz as well as appearances at 2000 Trees and Noizzefest bringing in plenty of new fans. Back in November the six-piece released Reglitter I, a collection of remixes, covers and offcuts with contributions from Death Goals, Chest and the vocalists of tourmates The Callous Daoboys and Ditz, now on Reglitter II, Knives deliver the same eclectic sound with a whole new set of collaborators.
While the first part of Reglitter added a pair of tracks that had been left on the cutting room floor, Reglitter II shifts the focus to some of the album’s deeper cuts. Opening on a remix of Glitter’s closing track ‘I See Them Fall’ by London based producer Sunnbrella which transforms the original’s moody acoustic ballad into a fuzzy, maximalist, electronic shoegaze experience while ‘You Think You Know’ gives Brighton electro-punk legends CLT DRP the opportunity to put their own mark on the track’s stomping, spin-kicking groove with their signature stabbing guitars and vocals which fly erratically between alluring and savage. Although the original tracks may not have stood out among the hard-hitting singles on the original Glitter, both Sunnbrella and CLT DRP breathe new life into their reinterpretations with their own signature styles.
The new EP Anhedonia from Belgian progressive metal peddlers BEAR is a real unfiltered helping of aggression with a healthy side order of hardcore-tinged riffing, slamming drums, and mathcore leads. It’s a step in a different direction from their usual affair, with much more aggression and in-your-face, outright metal, combined with the stylings of bands like Every Time I Die and Dillinger Escape Plan. Interestingly, this whole EP was recorded live, in a studio, no click tracks, no backing tracks, just straight up tekkers and whole band vibes, you’ve got to love it when bands go old skool like this. This also gives Anhedonia a sense of vitality throughout, without really losing any of the polish that is present from their previous records.
“Lacerate,” a thinly veiled love letter to American Head Charge, is the standout track here, its dark Nu Metal stylings grind over you for four minutes of delightfully poised songwriting magic. It’s like BEAR decided to take everything that’s good from that era and distil it into a perfect representation of the genre; all the tropes and hooks are there. Korn, Deftones, and Coal Chamber are brought to mind with the highly focused assault and brutal aggression that’s peppered throughout the whole record.
