By Josh Crawley
To me the term “groove metal from the Midlands” conjures awful images of a seven-band local show in a pub basement somewhere, where you get asked to stop moshing because you’ve bumped into someone trying to use the pool table.
However, for those with concerns similar to mine, I can assure you this is not the time to judge a book by its cover. Rather than a lazy local band strumming out the greatest hits of ‘Wrestlemania’, what you have here is a sophisticated metalcore record in the vein Employed To Serve or Harm’s Way.
‘Sentience: Part 1’ is very short and sweet effort totalling just under 20 minutes but promises much bigger things from the Midlands quartet. The first half of the EP is a more straight forward affair, with driving attack in the instrumentation and a monotone approach in the vocal cadence of vocalist Katie Cairns’ growls.
The second half of the EP opens up a lot more and is more expressive in its song writing and dynamics. It’s this approach that most catches my ear as the guitars begin to channel some of Joe Duplaintier’s signature pick rakes and overall leans more into switching between ferocity and restraint. Particularly on closing track ‘Myopic’, which would be my standout track for the EP.
This song to me showcases the band at its best. The vocals explore both driving low gutturals but envelopes higher pitched fry screams with a more melodic timbre. This is accompanied by dynamic guitar and bass which deviates from the “meat and potatoes” style riffing of the previous tracks and showcases a standout performance from drummer Graeme, who’s feet are on fire pummelling that double bass.
After the pandemic, I would really like to see I Saw The World burn breakout of what can be a dead end local circuit in the UK, building more on their very solid musical foundations with a more ambitious approach when it comes to the “overall package”, upping the quality of the artwork for their releases and merchandise, which this seems to be the first step towards. Doing so would easily allow them to slot in the thriving Church Road Records scene with artists such as Cruelty and Heriot.
- ‘Sentience: Part 1’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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