The Pitch: Brooklyn progressive mathcore/djent/death metal band Car Bomb follow up their critically acclaimed 2016 album Meta with another self-released bit of mathy madness. FFO: Meshuggah + 90's Alternative
What I Like: Car Bomb really do have a one of a kind sound. Sure, you can pick out comparisons from moment to moment, but where else are you going to find these heavy, technical sounds combined with the detached mescaline trip of 90's alternative and shoegaze? It's like Meshuggah collided with Sonic Youth. On the heavy end of the spectrum, the band engages in some seriously noisey and technical drumming and guitarwork that rival the likes of Frontierer in their chug chug, pew pew calisthenics. The syncopated vocals draw parallels to everyone from Jens Kidman to Mike Patton's work on Irony Is A Dead Scene. Then the tide turns, and everything goes strangely serene. Haunting, reverb-laden singing and beachy guitar chords lift us from the fray into a drifting cumulous cloud. Yet even then, all is not right. There's still a sense that things are slightly...off; everything feels very false and plastic. And just as that realization sets in, a new djenty panic attack kicks into high gear. I imagine that this is a lot what it feels like to have improperly medicated mental illness .
Critiques: For how great the album is, they don't put their best foot forward with "Fade Out." It's easily my least favorite track to the point where I've actually started skipping it. And just putting it out there, Mordial is not as good as it's predecessor imo. Meta felt like a much more cohesive and dynamic concept whereas this feels more like a compilation of random (alveit excellent) tracks.
The Verdict: All in all, I really enjoy Mordial and continue to think of Car Bomb as one of the more forward thinking bands in the genre. I don't get the same sense of awe and wonder as I did from Meta, but in no way does that negate its headbanging authority. Definitely check this one out, and I'm interested to hear other opinions on our social media.
Flight's Fav's: Scattered Sprites, Dissect Yourself, Blackened Battery
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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