Reviews
Album review: Dayseeker – Replica
Holding Absence, Beartooth and more help rising Californian metalcore mob Dayseeker strip back their biggest songs on acoustic reworking album…
Incendiary London duo CRASHFACE break loose on raucous debut EP...
This five-track debut EP from London’s CRASHFACE hits like a splash of battery acid. Formed in early 2020, core duo Charlie Hinton (vocals/guitar) and Otto Balfour (bass) formulated their musical maelstrom in the pressure-cooker of COVID lockdown and it shows: anger, uncertainty and sheer pent-up frustration are etched indelibly into their chaotic sound. They claim to have been brought together by a shared love of all things loud, but there’s plenty dissonant, discordant and downright mind-bending going on here, too.
Pivotally, they don’t slack on the INFECTIOUS side of HEAVY INFECTIOUS. Opening with a wry sample ('Oh my god, he’s so hurt') and the sound of as gunshot, ultraplanetplastickiller comes on like Nine Inch Nails starting a bar-fight with Gallows, yet you’ll find yourself tapping toes and banging heads within its 151-second span. Molotov Smile burns with internalised menace and packs industrial heft, but it’s carried-off with almost indie-rock swagger. Loading Screen Infinity feels like heavier-end, latter-day Bring Me The Horizon, draping its expansive sound over stadium-sized hooks.
Arguably the most straightforward song on show, COLD, loads a gargantuan main riff with pure gunpowder, then as its compelling chronicle of self-destructive jealousy plays out, it reveals a poppy lightness of touch. And, rolling in on a high-energy bassline, You’re The Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened To Me might be the longest song on show here at a shade over four minutes, but it’s utterly dedicated to burning out rather than fading away.
‘I fell in love with a vending machine!’ Charlie snarls as HEAVY INFECTIOUS races to the finish line. ‘It’s a motherfucking tragedy!’ Technologically provocative. Gleefully absurdist. Delivered with unequivocal venom. It’s a powerful encapsulation of why CRASHFACE are perfect candidates to catch fire right here, right now.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Black Futures, FEVER 333, Bring Me The Horizon
HEAVY INFECTIOUS is out now via