Meek is Murder - Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters | Review

Meek is Murder started as a solo project by Mike Keller (ex-The Red Chord), releasing Mosquito Eater in 2007. Eventually he added Frank Godla and Sam Brodsky (drums and bass respectively), turning MiM into a full-fledged band. Together they released 2011’s Algorithms and last year’s Into the Sun When it Falls Off the Sky EP. MiM are right back at it with Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters.

The duality of the title has much to do with Keller’s personal life. He experienced a year full of loss (deaths, relationship and fire) and moved forward through his music. The phrase is all about impermanence. Nothing lasts forever. Enjoy it while it’s here because it will be ripped away. But understanding how fleeting and insignificant everything is leads to the strength to carry on. Not without an adequate amount of purging however.

In less than 20 minutes, Meek is Murder let loose with everything in their arsenal. Keller’s unsettled riffs and shifting tempos mirror the chaotic nature of existence. Trying to force the cause of events is an exercise in futility. Likewise, resisting the emotional catharsis of his screams is a wasted effort. Better to grab hold of the torrent and let it guide you through your own purging. Godla and Brodsky’s ability to keep pace with Keller’s manic cleansing is a testament to just how tight MiM is as a band. The Ballou-produced effort force feeds the listener a positively nuclear energy in concentrated blasts of elasticity. That feeling of tension and release dominates EiANM. It keeps the listener constantly off-balance and always in motion. Music this personal is bound to evoke a physical reaction with its white-knuckled approach and MiM score a bull’s eye in that regard.

Gut-wrenching shifts in inertia fuel the whirlwind of mesmerizing fretwork and heaving crashes of backbreaking noise. Plenty of feedback raises the hairs, as does Keller’s harried vocal anguish, from vocal chord-straining screams to floor scraping growls. Call it mathcore, call it technical hardcore, call it what you will. But you can’t call it anything less than a stark and engaging manifestation of a positive reaction to hardship. Filled with enough Converge-isms to Bannon-ize your neck and enough Dillinger Escape Plan-ish weirdness to befuddle Sherlock Holmes, there’s nothing even resembling a dull moment. On Everything is Awesome Nothing Matters, Meek is Murder burn through the catharsis with explosive force leaving nothing behind but the past.

Matt Hinch 

Band info: www.facebook.com/meekismurder

Matt Hinch lives an unassuming life on the backroads outside Forest Mills, Ontario, Canada. He packs in as much metal as he possible can amid factory work, raising three daughters with his wife and working the land. In addition to Scratch the Surface Matt also writes for Hellbound, Ghost Cult Magazine, About Heavy Metal and his own blog, Kingdom of Noise. Keep up with him on Twitter @MetalMatt_KofN.