Song: Stray From The Path - Chest Candy [Euthanasia, 2022]

Stray From The Path, as a musical find, came out of nowhere for me. I was just starting to get into the hardcore scene, and I barely followed along with their album cycle. I caught wind of Guillotine and III, the former which I enjoyed and the latter which I didn't at first. When the album dropped, I gave it a listen and didn't expect to get into it straight away, but Chest Candy caught me by surprise.

I'm going to go ahead and assume that everyone who loves this song definitely love it for the riff. It stood out so much on my first listen, and I was absolutely floored by it. It's quite simple too, but it's so pissed and dissonant I couldn't help but enjoy it. When done right, contrasting lows and highs in a guitar riff is almost always some of the craziest riffs to ever exist. I don't even mind how repeated this riff is in the song because it's just that good.

Of course, I wouldn't really write about a song just for one riff, the rest of the song is quite solid too. The nu-metal-esque scream rap, a familiar sound to Stray From The Path, is actually quite beefy in this one. The vocal deliveries and rhythmic choices are quite unique and fun, despite it's rageful nature. I love the offset lines in the first verse, and the second verse is just full of completely fun cadences.

The drumming is mad too, I love the addition of Craig Reynolds to the band. His drumming is so versatile and effective and it adds another layer of expressiveness to every song. He can absolutely match the energy of the rest of the band but it's his ability to utilise his kit with so much intent and accentuation that makes it stand out so much.

Euthanasia is quite a fun record and Chest Candy is definitely a standout track for me, I found myself going back to it so many times since my first listen. I play guitar, so great guitar riffs will always catch my eye, so it's no surprise I'd talk about this song. What a hardcore banger.

Rating: 3.5/5

Album: Darko US - Oni [2022]

When it comes to heavy, there is truly no band quite like Darko US. Their self-titled last year was groundbreaking and sonically insane, and to know that they just dropped another album this year and still somehow have another album coming up is wild to me. The speed at which they make awesome metalcore/deathcore songs is hard to comprehend, and Oni is no exception.

Oni came with four singles, most of which I kind of skimmed over when it came out. I think my ears weren't geared for it at the time because I couldn't really get into it, and the only one I moderately enjoyed was Dragon Chaser because I found the electronic dissonance in that song interesting. I have to say though, my opinion on all of them changed drastically after listening to them with fresh ears and in the context of the album (except for Acid Inject, that one is still kinda meh).

There is a noticeable but hard to describe change in sound from Darko to Oni. I can't really place it exactly, but there's something seemingly more refined about this album that the previous album didn't have as much. Oni is a lot more fun and expressive, there's a lot more interesting moments now that they've managed to define their sound with their previous album. They're not afraid to go crazier with their sound design and break some sonic limits, but they also explored the softer territory in this record and I actually love it immensely.

Let's get heavy out of the way first, the songs with vocal features are absolutely insane. Hyper Kill is super bouncy and rhythmic, and if I'm being honest I still have no idea which parts are Ryo's. Rosaria's Fingers is full of rage and I love Kyle's feature, I think he introduces a vocal texture that contrasts quite a bit from Tom's, a lot of which I'm familiar with from his stuff in Brand of Sacrifice. Evolving is the heaviest by far, but it actually has a lot of dynamicism which I enjoy. Sure, the dissonance is overkill and the lows are inhuman, but there's a lot of fun rhythms and switchups that make this track interesting from front to back. The feature is great, never heard of Shaolin G or UnityTX before but his rap-esque parts are one of the coolest sections on the record by far. Ana is also ridiculously pissed but suffers the same issue as Hyper Kill, no idea which lines are Taylor's.

Come Home is the most unique one out of the songs with features, being a soft ballad-like song featuring Dayseeker vocalist Rory Rodriguez. I disliked it at first, to be honest, not liking the juxtaposition of Tom's screams on a track meant to be sentimental. After listening to it with the album though, it clicked like the rest, and I now fully understand why people love it so much. Darko US seems to actually have quite a knack for softer songs, as Infinite Beauty and Oni actually are really good songs. I love how they cut up the heavy songs on the tracklist and give the album experience breathing room, but on their own they also have really good atmosphere and sound design that makes them quite ethereal.

There are definitely a few songs that kind of don't stand out, with so much heavy blending into each other, but it's definitely a lot better compared to the previous record. The album's sonic diversity is also a lot more commendable, and makes this record feel a lot more complete. That said, I still think the self-titled did its job, it was meant to be the record that defines their sound and I think their heavy side is really still the core of their essence. Oni sees them exploring their softer side and going crazier on their heavy side, which is much more fun, but I don't want it to overshadow the foundation that the self-titled set out to achieve.

In short, Oni is a banger record. Many great tracks, many great moments. There's the heaviest of the heavy, but there's also softer stuff to mix it up, and at the core of it all, it seems the record was made with a lot of fun and intentful choices. Definitely a highlight of 2022.

Rating: 10/10

Tracklist:

1. Begin

2. Looking Glass

3. Hyper Kill (ft. Ryo Kinoshita of Crystal Lake)

4. Dragon Chaser

5. Rosaria's Fingers (ft. Kyle Anderson of Brand of Sacrifice)

6. Infinite Beauty

7. Evolving (ft. Shaolin G of UnityTX)

8. R.T.G.O.B.

9. Gantz

10. Oni

11. Ana (ft. Taylor Barber of Left To Suffer)

12. Sand Script

13. Acid Inject

14. Come Home (ft. Rory Rodriguez of Dayseeker)
15. Redo

Lyric Of The Week 30: Something Comforting

"'Cause getting made you want more, and hoping made you hurt more."

Porter Robinson - Something Comforting, from the album Nurture

Song: Fall Out Boy - Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet [Folie à Deux, 2008]

I decided I had to get into Fall Out Boy's earlier stuff after I started doing it with bands like Sleep Token, Loathe and Bring Me The Horizon. Fall Out Boy is one of the bands I've listened to the longest that I love dearly, and it feels kind of criminal to only have fully experienced the latter half of their discography. Folie à Deux was my next target, given how underrated it seems, and boy was I in for a good time.

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet stood out the most on this record, both for its musical design and its long name (I love the meme). I remember the very first thing that immediately piqued my interest straight away on the first listen was that part in the first verse where Patrick Stump just says "I didn't" seven times and then "I don't", which scratched an itch in my music brain I didn't know I had.

The electronic elements at the start add a lot of atmosphere to the song, a common theme throughout the record, but it's not the only new sound they threw in. I especially love the horns in the verses and pre-chorus, they complement the sound and give the overall song a unique texture. There are a lot of symphonic elements added to the whole record but I think this song blends non-rock and rock elements the best.

There's a whole lot of gold in the vocal melody department on this song. Other than the aforementioned "I didn't" line, the whole first verse has such a unorthodox vocal melody than I'm used to from Fall Out Boy. The chorus is no doubt catchy, an expected standard for Fall Out Boy, but I really enjoy the contrast between it and the pre-chorus. Going from an intense section to a calm chorus backed by some nice vocal harmonies is an excellent dynamic.

I love how the lower part of his vocal range is activated quite a bit for this song. I didn't know his voice could go that low, or expect him to choose to do so either. He does quite a bit of vocal riffing on the overlays too, which I always love from rock bands.

The guitar parts are simple but effective, especially the power chord riff that runs throughout the entire song. The bass and drumming are solid, and with the incorporation of symphonic and electronic elements here and there, make this song feel extremely colourful and massive.

I'm glad I finally took the time to dig into their older classics, and this will just be the start of it as I plan to dig into Fall Out Boy's entire discography as well as a multitude of other iconic bands. There are a lot of quality songs on Folie à Deux, but Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet felt the most genuine and unique. As bands evolve and change sounds it's always nice to remember and listen to the songs that had their core sound at heart, and this is one of the songs that feel the most Fall Out Boy-like in the record.

Rating: 4/5

Album: The Devil Wears Prada - Color Decay [2022]

I was quite excited for The Devil Wears Prada's new album. I thoroughly enjoyed ZII and the singles leading up to Color Decay were extremely promising, even if they were a bit weird. I was also lowkey quite happy to see one of favourite songs of all time from them, Sacrifice, end up on the album even though it came out as a standalone single last year.

I really, really love the overall emo-influenced metalcore sound of Color Decay. It's most prominent in tracks like Salt, Noise and Broken, and there's a decent amount of deviation from that sound in other tracks, but the core essence of this song is undeniably influenced by the sounds of My Chemical Romance, Underoath and other emo bands. Outside of that, there definitely is a more modern tinge to it, with electronics and synths on top of generally better, cleaner mixes that accentuate the vocals a lot more.

There's not as much pure heavy in this album, the closest few to match being Watchtower, Sacrifice and Hallucinate. Some of the songs don't even have conventional breakdowns or any at all, but I love it a lot more that way. It really leans into the genre blend of emo and metalcore and would've been a lot less interesting if they borrowed little of what makes emo, emo.

I have yet to hear any of the rest of their catalogue, so I don't have a clear picture of what their "usual" sound is. Regardless, as a standalone, it has quite solid songwriting, and I especially love the lyrical content and vocal melodies. They really hit the mark when it came to writing hooks that are super catchy, especially on choruses like Salt and Broken.

The experimentation on this album is commendable, and although not the easiest to get used to on the first listen, I actually did find them very interesting after a while. I remember when I first heard Time, the verses felt so weird to me with Mike shifting to and fro from screaming to singing, and I actually didn't like the song at first. After listening to it in the sonic context of the album, it somehow clicked for me and I actually like it a lot now. Twenty-Five and Fire definitely are the bigger culprits here though. Twenty-Five feels like someone decided to turn spoken word poetry into soft metalcore, and it's not bad but it is not the easiest to get into. Fire, on the other hand, is just so soft and mellow compared to the other tracks I would almost say it might as well be a pop song on a calm trap beat. It is a nice song to chill to though.

In general, it's not hard to say it is stylistically completely different from ZII, but how it compares to the rest of their discography, I cannot say. Color Decay is a great listening experience, and I especially love how it ticks both boxes for emo and metalcore quality for me. There's so many awesome things about this album, and even though there aren't much in terms of standout songs that would earn them a super high place in someone's top songs of the year, the album is well done.

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:

1. Exhibition

2. Salt

3. Watchtower

4. Noise

5. Broken

6. Sacrifice

7. Trapped

8. Time

9. Twenty-Five

10. Fire

11. Hallucinate

12. Cancer

Lyric Of The Week 29: love; not wrong (brave)

"Cause we are more than we're not, so never fear to feel."

EDEN - love; not wrong (brave), from the album vertigo

Song: The Dear Hunter - Whisper [Migrant, 2013]

The Dear Hunter piqued my interest as one of the most vibrant storytellers in alternative and indie rock. Whisper was my first contact with the band, and to this day still the best I've heard from them.

From the getgo, Whisper already has this colourful and elegant identity to it, as if this song had a soul. Incorporating symphonic elements alongside an alt rock sound with folk influence results in a very unique and powerful blend that I can best describe as a cheerful anthem.

It's fast paced in the get-out-of-bed-and-do-things way, happy in the realist sort of way, and inspirational in the nihilistic sort of way. There's something quite unexplainably unique about this song that no other song from any other genre has come close to replicating.

I love the multitude of musical tidbits scattered throughout the song. Little melodies on different instruments taking turns going off throughout the verses, they give the song so much life. The drumming is joined by a joyful tambourine in the second verse, which is a subtle touch that I enjoy.

The layers that they have going on in the chorus makes it so energetic and euphoric, especially with how explosive it feels coming out of the verse. The vocals are so passionate, they invoke such a strong emotion that's somewhere in between inspirational, monumental and cathartic. It definitely makes me feel, and occasionally gives me goosebumps.

The lyrical content plays an important role in making this song so good. A standout is the line right before the chorus, which I think is both one of the best lines of all time as well as one of the nicest vocal melodies possible for it.

It's no wonder this is one of their best songs, it's so well-written, has so much sentiment to it, and it's so uniquely energetic and beautiful. I found this song alongside EDEN's Wake Up, and the pair of them irrevocably changed my life and musical journey. With that kind of significance, there's no doubt on what rating this song will get from me.

Rating: 4.5/5

Album: EDEN - ICYMI [2022]

EDEN's third full-length album was something I was looking forward to, both excited to hear new EDEN music after a long while and in hoping for the sound I knew and loved. no future was a bit of a letdown for me, especially in the shadow of the arguably perfect records vertigo and i think you think too much of me. I couldn't really soak into the extremely electronically infused sound with no future, only enjoying a minority of tracks like isohel and love, death and distraction.

ICYMI, sadly, did not see a return to form, which I admit I was a bit disappointed by. This record's sound seems to be a spiritual successor to the previous, only with much less music. Both the track count and runtime barely go over half of no future's, which only adds to the disappointment. It feels like he only has remnants of his former glory scattered in this record. Duvidha tries to be interestingly quirky but comes off as rather odd, A Call seems like it's meant to be poetic and serious but just sounds awfully pretentious, Waiting Room is a subpar interlude that feels more like a garbled mess than anything substantial.

I don't want to bash this record more than it deserves, it has some good moments and tracks to offer. The singles are the best of this bunch, and honestly quite decent compared to the rest of EDEN's catalogue. Balling, Sci-Fi and Modern Warfare are great listens, other than the first few lines of Sci-Fi which sound really weird. EDEN still has the ability to write good lines and melodies, and it's evident despite only being peppered throughout this record. Songs like Closer 2, PS1, Call Me Back and Reaching 2 has more of the classic, iconic EDEN sound, although not by much.

I can't say I don't miss the sound of vertigo, i think you think too much of me and End Credits. That trio of records was such a great run and I was hoping to get a record that could bring back that level of quality, so ICYMI does feel somewhat subpar in that perspective. On its own, it's not a bad record by any means, although occasionally weird in its own right. The album experience is decent and I don't mind putting it on in the background every now and then. It just doesn't feel as special, borderline forgettable.

Rating: 6/10

Tracklist:

1. A Call

2. Balling

3. Sci-Fi

4. Modern Warfare

5. Waiting Room

6. Closer 2

7. PS1

8. Call Me Back

9. Duvidha

10. Elsewhere

11. Reaching 2

Song: Eidola - Mutual Fear (ft. Jon Mess) [The Architect, 2021]

I remember being so excited to see Jon Mess as a guest feature when I first saw this song come up. Much like the clichè, I came for the feature, stayed for the band. Eidola feels like a more mature version of Dance Gavin Dance, and in many ways is a sister band to them, but this song in particular sees Eidola taking the more fun route.

The moment the song starts, it's already full fledged funky. Weird slides and harmonics alongside Jon and his signature style of weird lyrics, an immediate punch to the face. They quickly follow it up with Andrew's cleans, an otherwise nice verse save for one very interesting detour into a super high note. All this is backed by a really fun guitar riff. The calm, melodic parts are soothing and the chorus is catchy. The guitar's are going ham in the back, and even more so after Jon comes back with some of the lowest screams I've ever heard from him.

Going into the second act of the song, Jon does this weird alternate panning polymeter-ic lyrical delivery that's both confusing and heavy. Andrew comes back with a short high-energy verse before they drop out to this calm bridge and then go straight back into the chorus. The final part of the song is very epic and intense, closing out this song with a powerful edge.

Mutual Fear has a lot of fun stuff and is definitely a stand out on the record for Eidola. Rapidly switching gears and juxtaposing sounds, the final soundscape is surprisingly sensible despite how jarring it seems like it should be. It's such a fun track to listen to, and one of the better songs on the record.

Rating: 4.5/5

Lyric Of The Week 28: Fin.

"This is my soundtrack to the end."

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! - Fin., from the album Gone Are The Good Days

Album: Archspire - Bleed the Future [2021]

Archspire is one of my favourite finds of 2021. I love technical stuff, especially on guitar, and finding a band that pushes technicality to such an extreme with every band member is awesome. The thing that really sold it for me was how melodic and high quality they could still be despite the insane technical skill on display. No doubt, their brand of technical death metal is one of the most unique and difficult ones out there.

It all started with the title track, Bleed the Future. I was astounded by the speed which everything was going. The vocals caught my attention first, but on repeat listens it was quickly made clear to me that guitars, drums and bass were all at seemingly inhuman speeds too. Moments like Oli's "Nothing ever written could define the global hell to follow" immediately wowed me, and I loved how the melodic focus for the "bridge" gave it a very monumental feel.

I got into the other singles first, Drone Corpse Aviator and then Golden Mouth of Ruin respectively. Drone Corpse Aviator's riffage is insane, possibly one of the most technical guitar songs on the record. Golden Mouth of Ruin has some crazy drumming, which considering the baseline drumming standards throughout this record, says a lot. Both of them were definitely easier to listen to than the rest of the album, and by many standards, the better songs on the record.

It took me a while to get to the rest. Their brand of tech death took very, very long for me to get used to, longer than any other record had. After a while though, I started to appreciate the general quality of the record, as well as songs like Drain of Incarnation and Reverie on the Onyx. They have many hidden gems in the form of moments that encompass a lot of their technical and musical ability strewn about the tracklist. Some of my favourites include the dissonant slides on Drain of Incarnation, the delivery of the chorus on Reverie on the Onyx, and the one singular pinch harmonic on Abandon the Linear.

The band is so unbelievably talented and solid. Oli's vocals are so different and technically complex I would dare say it's one of a kind, especially knowing he has developed techniques like shotgunning to rap faster with his growls. Dean and Tobi's guitar parts are wild, able to easily transition between speed and melody, and dominating in both. Whether it's pure riffage, chugging fast, harmonising or solos, they never fail to make it technically and sonically amazing.

Spencer's drumming shocks me the most. The man literally seems robotic. The tempo he can reach as a baseline is insane, and then he throws in some extremely ridiculous rhythms, pacings and fills in the mix. The burst snares in Golden Mouth of Ruin, the double kicks in like every song, the cymbal usage in A.U.M., and the ridiculous limb independence throughout. Jared's bass has some great parts too, feeling more like a tonal counterpart rather than a different layer of lower frequencies. Some of the bass solos are extremely satisfying.

Archspire and Bleed The Future has opened my eyes to a new dimension of heavy. No band has ever embodied relentless brutality quite like this one, yet they still have so much melody and elegance in their two and a half billion notes, it's an absolute marvel to experience. Not for the faint of heart.

Rating: 10/10

Tracklist:

1. Drone Corpse Aviator

2. Golden Mouth of Ruin

3. Abandon the Linear

4. Bleed the Future

5. Drain of Incarnation

6. Acrid Canon

7. Reverie on the Onyx

8. A.U.M.

Song: ILLENIUM, Jon Bellion - Good Things Fall Apart [ASCEND, 2019]

ILLENIUM is one of the most talented electronic musicians of the recent years, and his sound is undeniably iconic. You could tell if a song is his from a mile away. Mix that with one of the best pop voices and there is no chance that it doesn't end up being a banger. Good Things Fall Apart is one of the best electronic pop songs of the decade (for me at least), and it is both a sonic euphoria and a sentimental, cathartic experience.

This song has one of the best blend of musical textures that ILLENIUM has ever put together in a song. I love that the song is built around an acoustic guitar riff, what we hear in the intro. Acoustic guitars are great at evoking a rawer and stronger emotion while still remaining calm, which helps increase the emotional aspect of this song without compromising the energy dynamic of the song. Of course, Jon Bellion's voice on top of that injects an essential expressiveness to the sound, one that leads the genuinity of the song throughout.

The chorus is absolutely where this song shines. It has one of the most explosively vibrant electronic sounds coupled with one of the most catchiest chorus hooks ILLENIUM has to offer. The vocal harmonies and electronic elements building up to it is perfect, and the mixing they did on his vocals is just perfect. The reverb-y, layered vocal stack embodies such a heartfelt tone that really genuinely feels like a heartache song.

The verses and pre-choruses are nothing too special, but they do the job well of filling in the blanks in the storyline. I always love oddly specific story details in lyrics, it makes it feel less generic and, in turn, more personal and unique. Many a great song capitalises on sentiment by paying attention to expressiveness and energy, which even electronic elements are capable of. ILLENIUM is definitely a master at it, expertly crafting the soundscape to complement the voice.

As with most great pop songs that I rate highly, it usually boils down to personal sentiment. This song got me through a bad time and the message was comforting. Nowadays it has an unmistakable tinge of nostalgia for me, despite how recent it is, but with days like these anything goes. I love coming back to this song every now and then, it's made its mark on my heart.

Rating: 5/5

"ASCEND" Album Cover

Lyric Of The Week 27: Royal Beggars

"We sit on a throne, waiting for God to bend the knee, but we're nothing more than royal beggars."

Architects - Royal Beggars, from the album Holy Hell

Album: Loathe - The Cold Sun [2017]

After falling in love hard with Loathe's music having listened to I Let It In And It Took Everything, I knew I would eventually want to go through their earlier catalogue, as I do with every great band. The Cold Sun was the obvious next step, both being the next most recent record but also as the record that seemingly put them on the map (from what I read and heard, at least).

The Cold Sun immediately has a rawer, less refined and grittier sound than its successor, in the best way possible. The moment It's Yours comes in, with Kadeem's distorted screams, their absolutely stank guitar tone and energetic war drums, the spiritual mosh pit inside of you will start seeing blood. They keep this intensity up in many of the songs to follow in the tracklist, especially on East of Eden and P.U.R.P.L.E..

It's clear they've always had an affinity for ambience. I love how the ambience adds a lot to the sound and atmosphere of I Let It In And It Took Everything, and it is no different here. The only minor gripe I have is that it feels just a little bit out of place, especially near the end. Putting two full ambient tracks side by side felt like a weird choice, and made the latter half of the tracklist feel very deserted and sparse compared to the front. Despite that, I commend how it still adds to the soundscape of The Cold Sun.

This record feels like them trying to find their sound, and I love that even before they figured it out they were already making bangers. They clearly are stellar musicians capable of making quality tracks wherever and whatever it is they touch, and this is what makes them one of my favourite bands.

Rating: 8/10

Tracklist:

1. The Cold Sun

2. It's Yours

3. Dance on My Skin

4. East of Eden

5. Loathe

6. 3990

7. Stigmata

8. P.U.R.P.L.E.

9. The Omission

10. Nothing More

11. Never More

12. Babylon...