Within Destruction – Animetal | Album Review

Within Destruction has been defined as Slovenia's defiant metal pioneers. Their new album Animetal takes this to a whole new level.

This band is notorious for playing around with their art. Animetal encompasses what this band stands for wholeheartedly. Each track embodies its own Anime characteristics, resulting in a captivating uniqueness. From heartache to rage, the listener takes an emotional journey punctuated by well-placed “bleghs” and chainsaw riffs.

The album bolts out of the gate with the title track ‘Animetal’. The raucous, repetitive choral of ‘Animetal’ takes no prisoners, and sticks in your brain for days. The record flows in waves. Tracks following the opener, although pack a punch melodically, attention reverts to that Animetal chant from the first track. Fear not though the wave crashes again with ‘Bitter Embrace’. In a technique Within Destruction have all but mastered it is beautifully balanced between clean vocals and whispering growls. All this while being emotionally vulnerable, and maintaining ominous undertones by incorporating synths.  This track also returns with a catchy hook to play on the mind with “Now my soul disintegrates”.

Within Destruction haven’t garnered a reputation for pushing boundaries by simply pushing the parameters of deathcore alone. This band do not shy away from incorporating everything from pop influences to techno to deathcore. ‘Cybergirl’ is one of the most eclectic tracks on the record. It’s lyrics depict a picture of society that holds a mirror to today’s society. However, it does so without getting bogged down in the reality of its digital landscape. Several tracks on this record feel like a creative playground, particularly on this track and ‘Incomplete’. ‘Stay 4ever’  follows ‘Incomplete ‘ and again offers a perfect example of this band’s ability to genre-bend without jolting the listening experience. Soft, clean vocals dominate the front half track, paired with energetic techno pop.

The album as a whole fits in with the post-hardcore genre, predominantly, but the addition of an avant-garde flair from Anime. While being uniquely Within Destruction, they are reminiscent of Ice Nine Kills and Motionless In White. Not only in their musical endeavours, but how they incorporate storytelling and theatrics into their songs. The album closes with the most mellow track on the album, ‘A Love That Slowly Died’. There is no introduction of screams, it is all clean vocals with a backdrop of effervescent electro-pop tunes. The track is the perfect closer to such a high-energy album. As aforementioned, it’s a record that comes in waves, this song is that peace before the build of whatever is coming next.

Animetal is a skillfully curated album, while also being a melting pot for sonic techniques. It comes together through weaving influences from Anime plots and protagonists,  which works impeccably well. Each song takes on a life of its own. There are standout tracks on the record that are examples of what this band do best, they will not pander to anyone. Rok Rupnik has fully embraced the incorporation of clean vocals on this album. These add an extra layer of depth and emotional vulnerability to the characters in these songs. It will be interesting to see how fans react to this release, as it is another step away from their deathcore roots.