The Pitch: The new album from Virginia's Black Matter Device. "Two years in the making, Modern Frenetics is an 11 track collection of sporadic sounds spanning anywhere from mathcore to post rock to pure unadulterated noise." FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, The Number Twelve Looks Like You
What I Like: Ferociously technical but cheekily playful, Black Matter Device don't miss a beat over the course of this record...except when it's intended. Right from the outset of "The Pointy End," it's clear that these guys mean business with their chaotic guitarwork and schizoid vocal delivery. Tracks like "Ricky Simmons" play out like The Mars Volta colliding violently with The Dillinger Escape Plan while "Presto Manifesto" can't seem to decide whether it's an ode to The Number Twelve Looks Like You, a post-metal interlude, or pure djent destruction. Truly, Modern Frenetics is a veritable deluge of sonic ideas that constantly leaves the listener struggling for a firm foothold. One can never guess what lurks around the next corner, be it the Poison The Well-ish crooning of "Gloom Balloons" or just a bit of experimental noise. Whatever the case may be, the drums, guitars, bass, and vocals all do everything in their power to make it an experience worth revisiting.
Critiques: If I'm nitpicking, the album is a little inconsistent, and personally I don't feel that the noise interludes add much to it. I'll be interested to see where the band's sound expands and contracts the next time around and how they wrangle it all together.
The Verdict: If you love technical, eclectic music in the vein of Car Bomb and Torrential Downpour, you're going to love Black Matter Device. $8 is a steal for music this quality, and I'm in awe that this is the band's first full length.
Flight's Fav's: The Pointy End, Ricky Simmons, Signals
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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