I caught the Johnny Booth hype train off of bogdanhxc, and after the first two singles I was honestly quite intrigued and started following the album cycle. Right up until the album dropped, Full Tilt remained my favourite of the singles, and even know it might be my favourite off the album.
Johnny Booth has this more progressive kind of hardcore at their disposal, one that they blend with elements of metalcore. Full Tilt is the best example of that off the record, complete with electronic synths and intermissions, anthemic sing-scream passages, and a sizeable number of sections in a very non-conventional song structure.
There's this electronic sample going on for the intro, and it's pretty long, but I think it sets the tone surprisingly well. After that, they get straight into the riffing, which could very well be pure modern metalcore work, and the vocals are sublime. Straight cutthroat screaming with a very robust timbre. The drumming is intense yet dynamic, and the guitarwork is bouncy and chaotic, making for a super fun, restless and relentless soundscape.
Throughout the song, they dip up and down a lot with their energy levels, making use of calmer transition sections coloured with clean arpeggios, hi hat barrages and smooth synth chords. There's a pretty sizeable intermission going into the final section that boasts a different synth melody of the same sample from the start, soft reverb-drenched vocals roaming the back and ambient dialogue, and I actually do really love how the calmer soundscapes sound and how they contrast the louder ones.
I found they way they juxtapose the harsh vocal lines on top of guitar lead lines very interesting, because it creates this illusion of a vocal melody for me. I remember thinking that the line "it's the room that's in a constant spin" felt like it had melody to it, and then going back to it and realising it didn't. Their vocalist has pretty good control, I'll commend that, being able to traverse the minute differences of the gradient between sing-screaming and pure screaming.
Their hardcore roots are evident, seeing that rhe breakdowns are simply ruthless. Low-tuned guitars and tasteful production work amp up the impact of these chugs, not to mention great buildups and callouts. Although their breakdowns are pretty simple, I think their production work and tight musicianship gives it some novelty and keeps it from running into genericism.
Full Tilt overtook Collapse in the Key of Fireworks very quickly as my favourite song from them when it released. Even now, there's a lot to love about Full Tilt for its diverse soundscape, even with Moments Elsewhere finally out and killing it. Johnny Booth has definitely been a surprise for this year, and I'm glad to have had this song hook me in and keep me interested for the album release.
Rating: 4.5/5
"Moments Elsewhere" Album Cover