Song: Imminence - Heaven in Hiding [Heaven in Hiding, 2021]

It feels like a rare thing to find metalcore acts able to execute and thrive in softer sounds, so Heaven in Hiding caught my eye immediately. Imminence's style of violin-infused metalcore is a very distinct flavour even on the heavier side, but this ballad-like ultimate title track went a step further.

What stood out the most to me was how passionate the singing was, regardless of whether it was soft vocals on the verses or loud vocals on the choruses. The lyrics are poetic and sentimental, and the way Eddie channels this in his voice is artful. I admire how the entire band knows how to set up the soundscape around the vocals, both to complement it and to deepen the experience without distracting from the vocals.

The soundscape is so hauntingly thought out. The ambient work is superb and intentful, driving the tone and atmosphere in absence of guitars and violins. The drumming is great at moderating the intensity throughout, which plays a big role in juxtaposing the verses and choruses, as well as the final breakdown. The guitars and violins bring in a subtle but definitive amount of melody, steering the sway of the song.

The final breakdown is surprisingly refreshing. In many metalcore tracks there is a trope of a surprise final breakdown, and there is also a separate trope of putting breakdowns in softer songs. This song fits both tropes, the former of which I'm usually okay with, the latter not so much. I've always found the latter trope to take away from the sentiment, in songs like Motionless In White's Masterpiece and I Prevail's Closure. For some reason, this breakdown in Heaven in Hiding doesn't evoke the same distaste from me. My best guess is that it felt like the song has been subtly building up to something from the very start, so it made sense to my ears as a resolution.

I thoroughly enjoyed this track. Even without their violin infusion at the core of the track, their ability to weave so much emotion into their writings and produce such genuinely passionate music is commendable. This song is a highlight of 2021, for sure.

Rating: 4/5

"Heaven in Hiding" Album Cover

Lyric Of The Week 39: King of the Clouds

"And when I fall to rise with stardust in my eyes..."

Panic! At The Disco - King of the Clouds, from the album Pray for the Wicked

Album: Oceans Ate Alaska - Disparity [2022]

I remember hearing about Oceans Ate Alaska and their inhuman drummer, and when Disparity released I figured it was about as good a time as any to find out what the buzz really was. Disparity was really interesting all around, but whether that fully translated into quality was lost on me.

If I was rating on uniqueness alone, this record would get 11/10 with no challenge. This album boasts an impressively distinct metalcore sound that possibly has never been ventured into before by other bands, mixing various unconventional musical textures and undoubtedly insane and weird creative choices to produce a seriously wicked soundscape that could belong in an asylum.

They get really close to insanity with their songwriting in this record. It's a fine line between creative genius and pretentious subversion, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are people on the latter side. Being as objective as possible though, I have reason to believe their intentful divergent songwriting is more former than latter, and quite intriguing digging deeper into it.

I can see how integral Chris Turner is to their sound. His drumming establishes such a massive foundational integrity to every song, and what he does massively changes the outcome. A great example is Plague Speech: the main verse is done twice, once at the start and once after the breakdown. The change in the underlying drum pattern completely changes the feel and energy of the section, despite the vocals being delivered exactly the same.

The record spans an immense range of diverse sounds, albeit all still with a core element of heaviness. Juggling between ambient usage, dissonant design, melodic passages, violent chug-kick pairings and a menacing assortment of unclean vocals, they capture a variety of unconventional modern metal soundscapes in a single record. An amazing facet of their writing is, despite not being conventionally catchy or hooky in any way, the songs will somehow find a home in your consciousness. Lines from Paradigm and Plague Speech have become earworms and I'm confused to how it even did so.

James' vocal range is astounding. He cycles through so many difficult unclean techniques during the tracklist's runtime, and at such a high quality of execution, it's quite inhuman to comprehend. Sat beside robotic drumming and wildly unconventional writing, the resulting output is eye-openingly innovative every step of the way, and definitely in uncharted musical territory.

The main gripe I have with this record is, with the constant amount of curve-balls they throw at you, especially on first listens, it can get quite mentally taxing to try and absorb what's happening, and can take away from the immersiveness of the listening experience. It's not a bad thing by far, it does show their immense musical creativity and technicality, but it does make it quite hard to get into. At the very most, all I'm saying is that it is the opposite of a gateway record, nothing against the quality.

Disparity lost me many times before I could finally get a grip on the intricate complexities and unconventional choices at every corner of this record. Even now, I feel far from comfortable with navigating the soundscapes, but I can definitely tell that it is full of innovation and I can appreciate their contribution to redefining and refining metalcore with this.

Rating: 5/10

Tracklist:

1. Paradigm

2. Nova

3. Metamorph

4. Shallow Graves

5. Sol

6. Dead Behind The Eyes (feat. Eric Vanlerberghe of I Prevail)

7. Plague Speech

8. Disparity - Interlude

9. Empty Space

10. New Dawn

11. Hallucinogen

Song: Invent Animate - The Sun Sleeps [The Sun Sleeps, As If It Never Was EP, 2021]

2021 had a lot of new discoveries and amazing musical finds for me, and one of the top few has to be this song. I never heard of Invent Animate before this, but I fell in love with this song immediately, and it might very well be one of the best progressive metalcore tracks of the decade, maybe ever.

They have a very unique sound to boast, fueled by unique riffs and tones, unconventional but tasteful drum beats and their incorporation of ambience above all. Their soundscapes are always wildly immersive, and is a big part of their sound in general.

This song is home to one of the best metalcore riffs ever. The second half of the chorus beginning with the vocalist dragging the word "you" is accompanied by a masterfully written half-melody half-chug pattern that absolutely took my breath away the first time I heard it. Rarely do I ever find a riff so good it leaves me speechless for a first impression.

Despite the majestic riff, the rest of the song is unbelievably well-written too. The chorus vocal melody is one of my favourite choruses of 2021, the drum pattern in the chorus is so different and it always catches my eye, and the ambient design is phenomenal. The verses are extremely solid too, I just find it hard to say much about it when it pales in comparison to the chorus.

The breakdown is super fun and different, and it reminds me a bit of thall. It showcases the more unorthodox side of their writing capacity, especially with their odd rhythms, use of bends and choice of spacing. Immediately after the breakdown, most of the major instruments drop out and we get a good look at the ambient soundscape, and it's so elegant and ethereal.

I can't deny that this song is strongly focused on the chorus, but it is quite literally nigh perfect and I'm more than happy to love it for that. It's not like the rest of the song is bad anyways, it's a super solid song throughout. What a masterpiece, a pinnacle of modern metalcore.

Rating: 5/5

Lyric Of The Week 38: Trilogy

"I watched you watch me disappear."

Silent Planet - Trilogy, from the album Iridescent

Album: Every Time I Die - Low Teens [2016]

Low Teens was absolutely next on my list after the wild ride of Radical. I wanted to hear more of Every Time I Die's sound, as well as see if they were really as revolutionary as their reputation suggested.

Having known the familiarity barrier of Radical, I knew Low Teens would need a few good spins before I could start to appreciate it, and so I did despite none of the songs really sticking as well as Radical's on first listens. Fast forward two months and I've spun it enough to start loving the little nooks and crannies of this record, and I have to say that it is quite a formidable record, despite not being as consistently great overall as Radical.

A consistent selling point of their sound is that you'll never expect anything generic. From the get-go with Fear and Trembling's intro riff, you can tell you're in for a very interesting ride. Low Teens as a predecessor shares a lot of similarities in sound, although a subtly stronger influence from their mathcore roots is present.

There's a lot more oddities going around in this record than Radical, and also wilder song names, reminiscent of stereotypical song names of the emo genre. The inclusion of Brendon Urie as a hidden guest on It Remembers is also very cool, and surprisingly I didn't realise it was him the first few times I spun the record.

Low Teens didn't make as strong an impression as Radical, but I'm okay to give it some empathy points for being overshadowed by Radical in my mind. It seems to be a formidable record when it came out and maybe their peak at the time, which can only mean well to imply that they, as a band, only ever get better with every release. I can't say I've played it enough times to be completely and entirely sure of my thoughts on it, but for the most part, there are some bangers and the rest are decent, and I'm okay to leave it at that.

Rating: 8/10

Tracklist:

1. Fear and Trembling (feat. Tim Singer of Deadguy)

2. Glitches

3. C++ (Love Will Get You Killed)

4. Two Summers

5. Awful Lot

6. I Didn't Want To Join Your Stupid Cult Anyways

7. It Remembers (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco)

8. Petal

9. The Coin Has A Say

10. Religion Of Speed

11. Just As Real But Not As Brightly Lit

12. 1977

13. Map Change

Deluxe Edition:

14. Skin Without Bones

15. Nothing Visible; Ocean Empty

Song: Every Time I Die - Map Change [Low Teens, 2016]

I very much enjoyed Every Time I Die's Radical and I was looking to get into more of them, having heard how significant they were as a band in the metal scene. I went for their next most recent album, Low Teens, and found myself most drawn to Map Change, a sentiment shared by most fans.

Map Change is an intriguingly anthemic track. In some ways, it reminds me of People Verses, although chronologically it would be the other way around. There's something strangely captivating about the mix of anger, hope and cynicism woven throughout the choruses, verses and breakdowns.

The chorus is undeniably one of the best parts of the song, and especially near the end, quite emotionally charged. It feels resolute and final, and the lyrics shine a light on the darker tones of the song's intent.

The verses as well as other sections are all so well done and written with intent. Every Time I Die has always had a knack for writing really cool, thought-provoking and powerful lyrics, but this song has a particularly stellar concentration of poetic substance. They keep switching from cynical and even comedic tones to serious and sentimental ones, but throughout the whole song there's a persistent sound of jaded anger and defeated peacefulness.

Despite the fervent and occasionally angry start to the song, by the end of it, the energy slowly decomposes into a burnt out and strained crooning. It's such a rare occurrence for songs and singers to have such a range of expressiveness, especially unconventional emotions like these. The final moments of the song are my absolute favourite, with one final screaming speech before cycling the chorus into a fade away.

Map Change is undeniably one of Every Time I Die's best pieces. It's artistic and full of sentiment, and has a very monumental feel, something which many songs fail to achieve. This song only further reinforces my positive impression of this band so far, and I'm quite excited to continue deep-diving into their back catalogue.

Rating: 5/5

Album: Lorna Shore - Pain Remains [2022]

Lorna Shore made a big entrance last year with their single To the Hellfire and their subsequent three-track EP. Since then, the entire modern metal community has been excitedly following the single releases and the well-anticipated album release.

If I have to be honest, pretty early on I started feeling the staleness of their new music that, soon after, a small minority of other listeners also noticed. By the time their third single released, I felt like they all sounded pretty similar, and in a way, too similar to enjoy. To be fair, it is in the nature of the genre of blackened deathcore to be consistently intense, and there are limits to how distinct that can get. Yet, I couldn't get into some of the single releases no matter how much I wish I could.

Up to the final month, and with the release of Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames, I regained a bit of my interest for the album release. The song showed a much more distinct sound from them that was actually really well-done and super emotional, and I was hoping that meant I could expect a more diverse range of sounds from the album.

I think you can tell that I was a bit let down by the actual record. I have to clarify, by the way, it's still really good deathcore songs all around, it's just the record as a whole that felt a bit repetitive. Other than the Pain Remains trilogy, which with its a twenty minute runtime can get a bit uncaptivating near the end anyways, the rest of the record feels like different renditions of the same formula. Sure, they have the formula on lock and it's still top quality stuff all around, but the lack of variety ends up making every song seem dull.

If all these songs were released on their own, far away from each other or even in their own individual records beside other kinds of songs, they probably would've felt a lot cooler to me. I guess they lost the novelty when the songs were all released together like this.

Despite all that I dislike about Pain Remains, there are great things to highlight in the record still. There's an astounding level of musical skill and talent in every song, no one can even begin to argue otherwise. Every part of the band is top tier and are all equally integral to the sound of Lorna Shore.

When it comes to the many similarities in every song, like the use of symphonies, the expected super heavy breakdown, an extensive guitar solo, and the tremolo-picked chorus, they are all very effective musical tools for their genre. Ignoring the fact that they are seemingly overused by the band, they excel at designing horrifically brutal sounds or extremely melodic ones.

I still have to commend how inspiring and moving Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames was. It was such an unexpected release from Lorna Shore, yet it was absolutely touching despite its genre's nature. I was super glad they wrote a song that sounded different, even if for only one track.

I wonder if this is one of those records where you have to listen to it numerous times before you start to appreciate it for what it is, but I doubt that and I don't want to listen to it enough times to find out. There are songs from this record that I'm happy to cherry pick and enjoy, but trying to sit through the full hour experience of Pain Remains ends up feeling really dull and uninteresting halfway through.

Rating: 4/10

Tracklist:

1. Welcome Back, O' Sleeping Dreamer

2. Into the Earth

3. Sun//Eater

4. Cursed to Die

5. Soulless Existence

6. Apotheosis

7. Wrath

8. Pain Remains I: Dancing Like Flames

9. Pain Remains II: After All I've Done, I'll Disappear

10. Pain Remains III: In a Sea of Fire

Lyric Of The Week 37: Marionettes (II. The Ascent)

"And now we spark the match, we set ourselves alight."

Enter Shikari - Marionettes (II. The Ascent), from the album Nothing is True & Everything is Possible

Song: Paledusk - AREA PD [2022]

This song is the epitome of chaos in metalcore. In fact, if chaoscore was a thing, this would definitely be categorised as chaoscore. Paledusk is a band that's slowly rising up and gaining popularity, in part for their crazy tracks that are full of twists and turns, incorporating genres and styles that shouldn't work together but do. I have to give Nik Nocturnal credit for putting a spotlight on this band and this track, although it wasn't my first time hearing them. I've actually listened to Paledusk's SLAY!! before, but for some reason never cemented any impression of it.

The band packs a lot into three minutes, putting close to ten wildly different sections together. Despite that, it feels like there's some kind of logical flow to it, a very odd yet unique way of connecting each part to the next. Their transitions from section to section are expertly done in a way that doesn't feel jarring despite the contrasting juxtaposition, which is a feat considering how some moments in the song are designed to be jarring.

The moment the song starts, you can tell this is a youthful and energetic band. Pumping and energetic riffs pummel you from the get-go, and they won't hesitate to slot in a sudden electronic sound to throw you off. Barely thirty seconds in, the band throws a crazy riff at the listener that has a pretty crazy harmonic part in it.

The chorus completely switches the soundscape, with happy-sounding electronics leading the overtones. They follow it up with a slowed tempo, a really weird section that even electronicore doesn't really explain, and then they go right ahead for breakdown number one. The buildup is the right length and extremely exciting, the "Eughh" is satisfyingly brutal, and the riff is super fun. I especially love that for the latter half of the breakdown, it wasn't just a simple half-time modification on the drum beat, they changed up the drum pattern entirely, which made it so much more interesting.

I wasn't expecting to hear a keyboard section, but somehow it fit? They threw in half a second of a breakbeat-esque trap beat pattern too, and I have no idea how they made it work. They just keep going too, putting in a short lower-register vocal part that sounds cool and ominous.

The final breakdown riff made me laugh the first time I heard it. It's pretty simple too, but I really didn't expect a band to spam a hammer-on on a riff so many times. The breakdown part two, with the lower-and-slower trope, is surprisingly the most predictable thing in this whole song.

I can't comprehend how much writing there is in this song, every section is unique and nothing is repeated. They don't even have a proper chorus. It's already astounding that they managed to make a cohesive track at all, much less such a fun and listenable one. I kept finding myself going back to this track and enjoying the many ridiculous moments scattered throughout this wild card of a song. This track singlehandedly got me excited to follow and hear what Paledusk has in store in the near future, and is definitely one of the most fun modern metal songs of the year.

Rating: 4/5

EP: Sleep Token - One [2016]

After listening to This Place Will Become Your Tomb and Sundowning, I was dying to get more of Sleep Token, and I knew what I wanted to try next. A facet of every new artist discovery journey that is bound to be interesting is the first release, whether it's an EP, a single, or occasionally an artist that releases an album straight away. The One EP is no exception, and it's not only a stellar debut of three songs but a promising birth of their sound (and from hindsight, really cool to see how it started).

Thread the Needle, despite being the tamest song on the EP, is still quite a solid first impression. This would've been, for the band and any new listeners in 2016, the first song chronologically, so I think it was a strong pick. The six-and-a-half minute track starts off with a pretty safe section of Vessel singing over a soft instrumental that is akin to a pop ballad. Almost halfway through the song, they suddenly introduce the rest of the band, complete with low-tuned guitars, drums and ambience. They go back to another short verse before returning to the ambience-laden rock sound, and finally ending with a breakdown-like section. It's a solid track to showcase their sound, albeit a bit disconnected.

Fields of Elation is the shortest track on the EP, yet longer than the average song at four-and-a-half minutes. The soundscape is still the focus of the track, although this time it has noticeably more layers, as well as putting it on some of the vocal sections. There is a lot more ambient work put into this one, but the vocal melodies are relatively more intricate too.

When the Bough Breaks is an seven-and-a-half minute juggernaut of a song, and is quite a piece indeed. Sleep Token decided to go slow and draw the tension out with this one, starting with a vocal harmony, almost acapella verse. It moves on to this soft rock interlude that eventually intensifies into a powerful chorus, which is one of the best moments in this EP. It then slowly transitions out into a darker sounding instrumental before finally ending with another breakdown-like section.

One showcases a lot of the initial distinctive features of Sleep Token that would later develop into the more refined and matured sounds we hear on Sundowning and This Place Will Become Your Tomb. Despite it's chronological inferiority, I find it actually stands quite well on its own against the two full-length records, and in certain areas I enjoy it more, like for it's longer song lengths and slower, calmer pacing. I am quite satisfied with Sleep Token's first release, and I find it a formidable display of their developing sound.

Rating: 8/10

Tracklist:

1. Thread the Needle

2. Fields of Elation

3. When the Bough Breaks

Lyric Of The Week 36: This Side of Paradise

"If you're lonely, come be lonely with me."

Coyote Theory - This Side of Paradise, from the EP Color

Song: Polyphia - Playing God [Remember That You Will Die, 2022]

Playing God was the first single for Polyphia's fourth album, Remember That You Will Die, and it was such a astoundingly elegant track. It marked a change in their sound, most notably with the use of acoustasonic guitars, but also showed them in a very different musical style and genre.

Apparently, the main riff for Playing God was actually shown a long time ago. Tim Henson had posted it as a kind of Instagram throwaway post back in 2019. Hearing it become a full song since then is wild, developing into a flamenco-infused bossa nova-esque instrumental masterpiece.

The only reason I even have any relevant thing to say about this song is because I tried learning it on guitar. The technicality on this song is insane, and that's not hard to say for any Polyphia song, but on this song especially. I didn't think there'd be much out there that could be cooler technically than G.O.A.T., but Playing God boasts a lot of insane math rock-esque composition in the main riff as well as the verses.

The verse has one of the most beautiful guitar lines I've heard, ever. Despite the speed that they're playing, it sounds super pretty and clean, and having tried learning it, I can tell you it's really not easy. I really loved the three strummed chords 35 seconds in, and I also really love Scottie's natural harmonic run 45 seconds in.

The second half of the song takes on a completely different vibe, and it's really cool. It slows down a bit compared to the front half and trades in the elegant intricacy for a funkier, chill sound. It's quite dreamy and more all over the place compared to the first verse, which gives it a completely different feel. The drums and bass are definitely doing their thing, providing the strong foundational soundscape for the two guitarists to play on.

The writing is world-class, that's for sure, and they are absolutely cementing their position at the forefront of guitar playing innovation. Playing God was a mindblowing track to hear when it first came out, and now with the full album out, it still stands out as one of the better, if not the best, track on the record. It's definitely a challenge to play as a guitarist, but I enjoy the sheer innovation and creativity this track has. It's crazy to think this is just one of many masterpieces from Polyphia, but they truly are one of the best bands in all of history.

Rating: 4.5/5

"Remember That You Will Die" Album Cover

Album: Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die [2022]

People were saying Polyphia's fourth album is a myth, yet here it is in it's full glory. I've been super excited for this record since the first single, Playing God, and I think it exceeded expectations, which is a lot to say considering there were a lot of high expectations for this band.

In the aftermath of their 2018 record, New Levels New Devils, which set a new bar for them boasting tracks like O.D., Saucy and G.O.A.T., I had no idea what to expect for Remember That You Will Die. The singles preceding the album release gave us an astoundingly wide variety of sounds, and I realised I should expect anything and everything on this new record. When they showed the tracklist before the album came out, the guest features made it clear we were not expecting anything like New Levels New Devils, with a wide range of vocalist features from rappers and pop artists to famous metal vocalists and guitarists.

The diversity in genres they've achieved with this record is incredible. Whether it's jazz, trap, pop, rap, rock, djent or anything in between, they've got it down on lock. Every track has a completely different soundscape, and despite that the whole record feels complete and has a strong musical identity to it.

The features play a big part in amplifying the sounds they're emulating in the different styles. Brasstracks on Genesis as well as a lot of the other tracks helps to bring in a unique taste of jazz, Sophia Black's strong vocals lets them go full pop on ABC. Killstation, $NOT and Lil West let them switch gears to a rap-based instrumental, which is something they've been eyeing for a while with the rise of instrumental guitar's involvement in rap music. I particularly enjoy how the guitar melody mimics and complements the vocal melody in Fuck Around and Find Out. Deftones' Chino Moreno on Bloodbath lets them embrace the post-hardcore sound, and more importantly, their metalcore roots. Bloodbath might be their heaviest song in a long while. Of course, the ultimate track Ego Death, featuring Steve Vai, is nuff said. The greatest minds of the guitar world, classic and modern, meeting together for an awesome six minute instrumental masterpiece.

I love the change in focus for this record when it came to how they write music. They used a lot of seven and eight string guitars on this record, which I personally love for metalcore reasons, but also I think it gave them a lot more room to play with note-wise and technique-wise. I heard a lot more guitar thumping in this record, something that I think Tim's been waiting to throw into a record since God Hand. There's also a lot more traditional guitar solos throughout the record, which I will never complain about. They also experimented with a lot of guitar textures, most notably the acoustasonic sound in Playing God, but also whatever was going on in Neurotica and All Falls Apart. I also have to point out how cool it is that Scottie gets to shine a lot more on this record, I feel like I'm finally getting to hear what he's fully capable of in this record.

I think it's safe to say this is their best record yet. Where New Levels New Devils could end up feeling a bit stale, Remember That You Will Die is so diverse and musically interesting that it transcends Polyphia's previous boundaries. An instrumental band like Polyphia, even as big as they are, will remain confined to a limited target audience if they only focus on technicality and impressing other musicians. This record, however, saw them going out of their way to weave their sound into other genres in an intricate and impressive yet accessible way. You don't have to be a guitarist to love songs like ABC and Memento Mori, but if you do it's even better. I think that's one of the main selling points of this record, is how they've gone past being just about the instruments to having a versatile sound to complement any genre they touch. A stellar record, if any, and definitely a new landmark record for their band.

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:

1. Genesis (feat. Brasstracks)

2. Playing God

3. The Audacity (feat. Anomalie)

4. Reverie

5. ABC (feat. Sophia Black)

6. Memento Mori (feat. Killstation)

7. Fuck Around and Find Out (feat. $NOT)

8. All Falls Apart

9. Neurotica

10. Chimera (feat. Lil West)

11. Bloodbath (feat. Chino Moreno of Deftones)

12. Ego Death (feat. Steve Vai)