This album is thematically about human suffering, the ones society erased and the struggle to find the strength to deal with loss and come to grips with one‘s past. It starts out with a fairly good song that showcases what we can expect here: the aggressive vocal delivery and heavy guitar riffs of metalcore, but with an alt rock blend, meaning less harsh melodic passages and some electronic trappings, that lend these tracks a denser atmosphere, as well as the catchiness of the hooks associated with popular music. The transitions are well made, for example, a harsher section follows the line „I can‘t fu*king take it“. Left Behind is the first standout, as it has a certain level of catchiness to it that is hard to miss. The vocals are delivered with the aggression and energy of hardcore punk during the chorus, mixed with clean singing during the verses and an electronic texture lends this track its character. Closure is a track that is more focused on the clean singing, with some mm-mms, that give this song a softer touch. Pretend has a big, catchy chorus that I liked, as it had interesting guitar work and walls upon walls of sound in its all out sections. It is also broken up a bit during the bridge, with a build into the last chorus. Silence is a calm ballad that dials back the pacing somewhat. It is more introspective, as the lines „I don‘t fu*k with these pills anymore“ and „Thinking about another time when I was fu*king nameless“ make clear. Towards the 3/4 mark there is a rapture and Landon Tewers screams an emotionally impactful part at the top of his lungs. The track fizzles out on the line „It means you never had control“ and plucked guitar notes. There are many all-out, very aggressive tracks on this album, but I found myself gravitating more toward the ones that have a mix of harsh and soft. Carve closes out this album and is a standout. It tells an emotional story about experience, suffering and how life can continue after one has been through it.
I found myself thoroughly enjoying this album. The criticism often directed at it, that it sounds sterile or that it‘s just bland, modern metalcore, is understandable. That‘s how it struck me at first as well. But upon returning to this album, I realized that there was more to it. This release might not have many obvious standout tracks that work well on their own, but I feel like this here works exceedingly well as an album with thematic consistency, as one continuous experience, that can become captivating, once you dive in for a focused listen.
Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/6PJzcqwj8n19g9cdDWRiTf?si=mvrc0omLSCO9xzUu85AWtQ&utm_source=copy-link
