Wristmeetrazor: Misery Never Forgets
As a myriad of hardcore bands plumb the depths of the 90s and early 2000s for inspiration, it was perhaps inevitable that we'd see a revival of the emotionally charged ferocity that bands like Poison The Well, From Autumn To Ashes and Remembering Never in particular dealt out, and for a band playing this sound to get picked up by a label. The band in question, Wristmeetrazor, the label in question, Prosthetic Records, and here we are with their official debut album.
Fortunately for the band, I'm quite a fan of that strand of early 00s metalcore, and fortunately for me and the other listeners, they don't just retread those waters on this album. They take their name from a Usurp Synapse song, and the fragmented, blistering ferocity of that strand of screamo, emo violence, is all over this album. Song lengths seldom go past the two minute mark, the guitars squeal and screech with wiry feedback, the vocals are a tortured pterodactyl cry. Yet it's Wristmeetrazor's deep love and care for both genres which make this album work. The metallic heft keeps the music impactful, the screamo dynamics keep the music from falling into the trap of empty chugs that just act as window dressing for breakdowns. The best example of this is "XOXO (Love Letter From A Loaded Gun)", with its scything verse and crushing breakdowns. They play with atmosphere too, with some almost black metal inspired melodies on "Expiry Date: 12 Hours" and the electronic humms and hisses on "Goodbye Sweet Betty". They've a real gift for crafting those soaring but sorrowful melodic guitar parts we looked to Misery Signals for, most brilliantly displayed on "No More Blue Tomorrows", where we get an entire four minutes of music. The occasional flashes of clean vocals, in the form of sinister spoken word and fey cleans add an extra dimension, and I do wish that was explored more here.
Fortunately for the band, I'm quite a fan of that strand of early 00s metalcore, and fortunately for me and the other listeners, they don't just retread those waters on this album. They take their name from a Usurp Synapse song, and the fragmented, blistering ferocity of that strand of screamo, emo violence, is all over this album. Song lengths seldom go past the two minute mark, the guitars squeal and screech with wiry feedback, the vocals are a tortured pterodactyl cry. Yet it's Wristmeetrazor's deep love and care for both genres which make this album work. The metallic heft keeps the music impactful, the screamo dynamics keep the music from falling into the trap of empty chugs that just act as window dressing for breakdowns. The best example of this is "XOXO (Love Letter From A Loaded Gun)", with its scything verse and crushing breakdowns. They play with atmosphere too, with some almost black metal inspired melodies on "Expiry Date: 12 Hours" and the electronic humms and hisses on "Goodbye Sweet Betty". They've a real gift for crafting those soaring but sorrowful melodic guitar parts we looked to Misery Signals for, most brilliantly displayed on "No More Blue Tomorrows", where we get an entire four minutes of music. The occasional flashes of clean vocals, in the form of sinister spoken word and fey cleans add an extra dimension, and I do wish that was explored more here.
This isn't a perfect album however. The short song lengths leave some ideas unexplored fully, the electronics on "Goodbye Sweet Betty" being effective, but effective isn't enough when almost every other hardcore album out there is using them. The screamo elements won't be to everyone's taste, especially considering how their combination with metalcore may give some flashbacks to the worst of Rise Record's back catalogue. However this is a very powerful and compelling debut, displaying a lot of potential, and any fans of emoviolence, early 00s metalcore or just emotive, heavy music would be well advised to give this a spin, especially as it's only 20 minutes long.
Seven white Monster cans out of ten
Recommended Tracks: XOXO, In Line For Halos, No More Blue Tomorrows
For Fans Of: Portrayal Of Guilt, Remembering Never, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Rennounced.
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