When faced with an album cover such as this the mind spins. The bands moniker brings to mind a vicious scene from a Salvador Dali 'feature' from the 30's (yes, the 30's!) much like the film the imagery here is stark and powerful with a slew of collaged pictures which are immediately recognizable; themes of war, poverty and beauty stand out and the intrigue only grows. Based on prior experience one might assume this to encapsulate audio of a style likened to Napalm Death, Insect Warfare or Terrorizer.

There's one way to know for certain.

Plucked from the void the style makes an instant impression. And the assumption is somewhat on point; this is bathed in Grindcore values. Featured early on "Stabbing Spiders" runs a whopping forty-seven seconds.

However, there's something else in the mix, another element which results in the audio bearing a jagged, blunt and undeniably abrasive aura with abrupt stylistic breaks (Is this the definition of Mathcore?) "Martyrs", the first track, being the earliest of indicators that this isn’t going to be an album easily defined within traditional genre boundaries.

Unpredictability is the word of the day here, as well "grueling" as this is quite the strenuous workout for the ears, especially those not familiar with the aforementioned ‘style’. Suffice it to mention that those wishing for mere chuggery, speed for the sake of speed and melody will be invited to dig deeper (as this album smothers the senses), this contains all of this though showcased in frenetic amorphous bursts as well enticing calmer passages opening the door for a myriad of other emotions to flood the psyche.

To state “Mirrors” contains complex arrangements and that the musicians involved are insanely talented is much like stating that the sky is up. Some elements, however, are less than blatantly obvious. For instance, it's difficult to decipher that Pupil Slicer are from the UK; growls, bellows and the angst dripping vocal assault boasts zero accent. More surprising still is the fact that the throat responsible belongs to Kate (Davies) whose talent is an undeniable and unprecedented force of nature (vocal gymnastics within "Collective Unconscious" will make one an instant believer) made even more impressive still by the fact that she also handles guitar duties. Shocking, is that Pupil Slicer is a three piece (outfit), as there's enough turmoil and intricate unforeseen meanderings draped in masterfully-controlled chaos in these arrangements for five.

Obviously, “Mirrors” will warrant several spins to fully digest and thoughts will tumble as to where influence derives as it does so. But when it clicks, it clicks!

As a debut this predicts a brilliant future which Prosthetic should be extremely proud of signing. Now if only this damnable Covid thing would dissipate in order that the ferocity of the band’s talent and raging wildfire on stage presence can be fully experienced. (8.1/10)

Cult

Band info: www.facebook.com/pupilslicer

 

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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.

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In an age over-burdened by data from thousands of sources, it comes as quite the achievement when a band whips up even an ounce of excitement. The Dillinger Escape Plan is one of those very bands and as with each studio LP since their mind-melting debut ‘Calculating Infinity’, the release of a new album remains a significant event. The math-core pioneers have been insidiously mutating their complex formula since 1997: taking riotous hardcore to its outer limits through jazz time-signatures and gradually melding melody, noise-rock jives and ambient electronica into a poisonous elixir. But more importantly, as evidenced by the band’s fifth and latest LP, ‘One of Us is the Killer’, The Dillinger Escape Plan has placed greater focus on song-writing while preserving the blinding musicianship that made their name.
The song-writing on ‘One of Us is the Killer’ is extremely strong, with the band—guitarist/composer Ben Weinman, vocalist Greg Puciato, bassist Liam Wilson, drummer Billy Rymer and new guitarist James Love—balancing melody upon incendiary instrumentation without losing one drop of the red-hot aggression that has made The Dillinger Escape Plan one of the most explosive live bands in the world. First single ‘Prancer’ and the title track off ‘One of Us is the Killer’ provide the perfect paradigm for this. The band’s restless ingenuity is ensnared by Puciato’s sharp lyrics and sinister vocal hooks; the dark-jazz undertones of the title track housing a colossal chorus that lurches into life and inhabits your ear-canal instantaneously. For the reason that maintaining a musical and lyrical narrative is paramount to ‘One of Us is the Killer’, the chaos we’ve come to expect from the band is controlled with extra emphasis placed on jagged grooves, while experimentation is minimal. This may disappoint those looking for ‘Black Bubblegum’-pop and ‘Parasitic Twins’-part two, but don’t let this fool you into thinking the band is less ambitious this time round: such moves are calculated to create a cohesive concept without having one diverse song outperform the rest. Instead the diversity of the past is subtly engrained into the music and Weinman and Puciato set paranoia and unease surging, which swamps the music in a tense atmosphere similar to Mike Patton’s work with the band on the ‘Irony Is a Dead Scene’ EP.
It is by far the darkest release since the much lauded EP, and the darkness suits the band. Many a title of honour, and not a few of shame, have been attached to the name The Dillinger Escape Plan. ‘One of Us is the Killer’ won’t change this judgement one bit, and when the tale of this seminal band has been written, this record may be the point when The Dillinger Escape Plan showed their worth as song-writers and not just provocative and inimitable musicians.

Dean Brown 

Band info: www.dillingerescapeplan.org
Label info: www.partysmasherinc.com

Dean Brown is a metal scribe based in Ireland. He is currently a contributing editor to the North American cultural magazine Popmatters and he regularly throws words for a number of other reputable loud noise publications such as About.com/heavy metal, Soundshock.com, MetalIreland.com, MoltenMagazine.com, amongst others. He has a strong affinity for music that shakes souls and leaves debilitating tinnitus in its wake and such obsession has left him financially and medically crippled, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Follow Dean on twitter @reus85

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