The trio open the full-length with ‘Sun Killer’, an anthem built to crush. A combination of metallic pulsating and ominous synths build the pressure within the dying star. Sonically simple verses allow Courtney LaPlante’s mournful cleans to breathe. The swell into the second chorus of the “sun killer lullaby” introduces the satisfying crunch of Mike Stringer’s guitar riffs. This staggered introduction to each moving part proves to be a genius move as it culminates in a supernova style breakdown.
Heaviness is the name of the game for Spiritbox. LaPlante’s screams blast through ‘Hurt You’’s aggressive verses. Tailing the opening uncomfortable spiral, this take of schadenfreude unravels to droning guitars and an unexpected clean chorus. Sonic isn’t the only heftiness this trio employs. Sorrowful ‘The Summit’ may house moments of crisp guitar, but its weight comes from a lyrical standpoint. “The venom is what keeps me alive” crawls beneath our skin and transports us to a world of heartbreak. ‘This release carries into ‘Secret Garden’; chunky metal riffs and an upbeat feeling are a natural evolution here for drawn out vocals to make themselves at home. Yet, the string skipping verses and tasty transition melody make this song its own entity.
With the aim of being as “out there” as possible whilst staying true to their punk roots, citing influences such as Ramones and The Cramps, it certainly seems as if these newcomers to the international scene have their work cut out for them. But does Around the Sun deliver on this vision?
“The old and the boring, can shake their heads,” begins the monotonous yet atmospheric album intro on ‘Chromosome’ before a short and simple “fuck ‘em” kicks the song into gear. It’s a straight up punk record alright, and the aforementioned influences are clearly heard from the start. The song builds up to its conclusion getting more and more energetic as it goes on, but at times the vocals end up being lost in the mix; in part also due to the delivery, meaning that it becomes at times difficult to understand what exactly the band are angry about. Fortunately, this does not proceed too far into the record, with the second track ‘Pressure Points’ delivering a solid and interesting vocal delivery reminiscent of the old punk scene from several decades ago. At times, it’s almost too reminiscent.
‘Crack A Smile’, the album’s lead single, continues along this road, beginning with a riff that is very almost The Undertones’ ‘Teenage Kicks’. It’s certainly fun music, and it rocks, but if we go back to the band’s supposed mission statement, is it particularly inventive or “out there”? Not really. ‘See-Thru’ admittedly brings about some element of stylistic change, opening up as what sounds like a hardcore song inspired by the likes of Gallows, before a very Billy Talent-esque chorus employing higher pitched broken chords on guitar.
Early post-rock bands like Bark Psychosis, Seefeel and Tortoise were primarily interested in texture and abstraction rather than the relentless swells and releases, the quiet lulls and wave-like crescendos that have become de rigueur for the modern genre.
Something changed around the turn of the millennium. The new wave of post-rock, including bands like Explosions In The Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, This Will Destroy You and numerous others gutted the genre’s very-nineties blurring of sentiments and deconstructed musicality, replacing them with direct emotional trajectories and earnest melodies. The post-9/11 world was a “cold, dead place” to quote EITS, one that demanded simpler answers, even if none were easily forthcoming.
Post-rock 2.0 is bound up in the complications of this era, and in possession of a sonic palette that clearly reflects its profound melancholy. This also explains why the genre’s popularity has dipped and waned so much since this heyday. Bands like 65daysofstatic and Maybeshewill briefly infused the sound with electronic glitches but, as a whole, contemporary post-rock still sounds much like the melodramatic, cinematic mode of this 00’s golden age.
They’re a band credited with creating the blueprint for both melodic death metal and goregrind, whilst incorporating trademark gross-out imagery and dark humour into their lyrics and album artwork. Thirty years on, several line-up changes and periods of inactivity and Carcass are still going strong presenting us with Torn Arteries, an album previously shelved for a year due to the global pandemic.
Torn Arteries is the band’s seventh record and definitely stands out from the rest of their back catalogue, both sonically and stylistically. The band are very aware that they have a sound, that you can tell from a cursory listen that it’s them, that it’s Bill Steer‘s guitar tone. With regards to album art, the band have also taken a different approach this time around, opting for a cleaner and what some may call a “safer” design. Eschewing the more typical aesthetic of death metal, it’s almost a piece that could sit on a coffee table – with the Carcass twist.
Visuals aside, the album is still being met with wary anticipation since founding member and guitarist Bill Steer referred to the band as “Dad Rock” in a recent Rolling Stone interview. They’ve openly stated they didn’t set out to make an album like their previous work, and it’s true, Torn Arteries offers up a far less intense listening experience than 2013’s hard hitter, Surgical Steel. It’s by no means a ‘radio friendly’ record but certainly proves that the band know their craft inside out and have more than earned their stripes over the years, giving them the freedom to experiment outside their comfort zone.
Woking’s heavy hitters are set to release their second effort under the Spinefarm banner and it sees the band transitioning over to more traditional metal territories whilst still incorporating elements of thrash, metallic hardcore and all things devastating within their sound. Now is the time of Conquering, the band’s fourth and finest record to date.
From the get go you can hear the shift in tone, mood and underpinning atmosphere. The melodic, softly picked intro to ‘Universal Chokehold’ lulling its way in before dropping a hefty wallop of double bass pedal and a dirty riff. In fact it’s a full one minute and forty five seconds before we hear Justine Jones’ familiar raptor vocals. In place of a breakdown we’re treated to a shredding guitar solo – yet somehow the band sound even heftier than before, the further distortion of the guitars only adding to the brutality in Employed To Serve‘s already meaty sound. It’s certainly a contrast to the introductions provided on their previous records, but never once is this jarring or confusing. Instead it feels natural, organic and totally, effortlessly ensnaring.
Lead single ‘Exist’ treats us to some nice split vocal duty between Justine and guitarist/vocalist Sammy Urwin alongside some thrashy chugging on the guitars. ‘Twist The Blade’ is where things start to get real interesting however, as we’re treated to a set of clean vocals before a crescendo of noise erupts from within, blistering guitar shred amongst the beefed up thrashing, like a marriage of extreme metal and the band’s more hardcore roots. ‘Sun Up To Sun Down’ returns us to the slow, powerful tempo of 2017’s ‘I Spend My Days’ reminding us that a metal song doesn’t have to be fast to be bulky or a musical piledriver.
The quintet garnering enough support over the years to play alongside the likes of Birds In Row, Cult Leader and Crowbar and even land a standalone track on the worldwide gaming spotlight that was Cyberpunk 2077. Slowly rising up the ranks and gaining recognition. This record their opening gambit with label eOne Heavy is here to make a racket and open that net of support even wider.
Opening track ‘The Hiss’ sluggishly builds in volume as you walk deeper into the depths of Hell, the darkness consuming you as the sadistic choir and hissing seeps into your ears. You are truly in Hull, sorry, Hell and you will pay attention.
‘Fail’ smashes you square over the head with just over a minute’s worth of raw aggression. This swiftly asserts the development of the band since their last outing. Jim Hodge’s vocal delivery a huge step forward alongside licks of intriguing guitar and drums that prick the ear amongst the wash of brutality.
