I had I Let It In And It Took Everything in my to-listen list for a long while, having seen the name everywhere and assuming it had to be a good album to be so talked about. I don't remember when or why I decided to first listen to it anymore, but I do remember how confusingly likeable it was. It didn't come across as an album that I would be falling into at first listen, considering how non-conventional their style was and, to a certain extent, how chaotic it was, but I found myself intrigued. There were some moments I wish I could relive for the first time, now that I appreciate metal music so much more, just to see what kind of a first impression it really would've had, but my first impression is honestly a blur.
What isn't a blur, however, is how much I love this album. Loathe has made such a big and good impression on me with just one album, which is quite hard to do. Within fifty minutes, they managed to show off their versatility with heaviness and softness, their unique style and musical ideas, and their ability to present it all in a seamless, otherworldly experience. They combine their masterful use of ambience, both in focus and in background, to craft a tracklist that flows into each other, but in a way that you won't complain about not knowing when one song ends and the next starts. They know how to put insane, high-intensity moments like the breakdown in New Faces In The Dark and Red Room without compromising the immersiveness of the album as a whole. In fact, any band that can put something as emotional as Is It Really You? and A Sad Cartoon next to the heaviest tracks Gored and Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Cuts is really something.
As it stands right now, I have yet to dive into Loathe's earlier material, and it is possible that it isn't as high-quality as I Let It In And It Took Everything is, but that would be a good thing, because it would affirm to how Loathe is a band that only ever gets better. But having heard their new 2022 single, Dimorphous Display and their collaborations with Teenage Wrist and Sleep Token, I think it's safe to say they won't be getting worse.
Rating: 10/10
Tracklist:
1. Theme
2. Aggressive Evolution
3. Broken Vision Rhythm (feat. Harry Rule of God Complex)
4. Two-Way Mirror
5. 451 Days
6. New Faces in the Dark
7. Red Room
8. Screaming
9. Is It Really You?
10. Gored
11. Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Cuts
12. A Sad Cartoon
13. A Sad Cartoon (Reprise)
14. I Let It In And It Took Everything... (feat. Vincente Void of Darke Complex)