By Jason Walker
If you’ve been to almost any tech or prog related gig in the north during the last three years or so, you’ve probably come across Sertraline at one point and their slick live shows featuring face smashing riffs reminiscent of the likes of Monuments fronted by charismatic frontwoman, Lizzie who sports vocal pipes that jump between cleans and uncleans which get better with every release they put out.
The latest offering from this five-piece which are spread across the UK from Leeds to Stoke is a five-track EP – and what a bloody treat it is. The production quality on this EP is top-notch, with every element of the band being easy to tune into – even Hendo’s bass work… luuurvly.
The opening track is the first single they’ve released from it so far which is ‘Inside Out’ which has an intro that reminds me a lot of some of Valis Ablaze’s work, the juxtaposition of an atmospheric melody vs djenty chugs before going into an aggressive verse which really showcases how awesome Lizzie’s uncleans are. The chorus is massive and uplifting, often a regular hallmark of Sertraline’s sound is a metalcore staple of a chorus that you can singalong to, all in preparation for the moshpit during the aggressive verses.
If you’ve seen these guys live relatively recently, you may recognise the second track ‘Mean To Me II’ which is, as you’ve probably guessed, a second part to an older banger which reprises the main hook of that song in a tasty little pre-chorus lick. The good thing is that this song stands on it’s own merits while maintaining the thematic side of the first part, but my god that breakdown just after the middle is some goddamn filth.
‘2205’ features some of my favourite guitar work they’ve done so far; the main guitar riff reminds me a lot of Monument’s ‘Atlas’ in the rapid-fire chugs and frantic chord changes during this. The fact that Lizzie jumps between cleans and uncleans so much during this song is fantastic as well but for me, the bit I love in this song is Tom’s guitar solo, it’s short, sweet, but I love it.
‘Screaming For Sleep’ is quite a poppy number in contrast to the other songs on this EP and seems a bit more towards a lot of Bury Tomorrow’s sort of style of metalcore with a tinge of even Nightwish which is a really cool style fusion, again, smashing chuggy outro, proper headbanging fuel.
And finally, the final track and next single due off this EP, ‘Isolation’ which is just pure aggression right off the bat – pure moshpit bait. The chorus dials it back a bit for a bit more a singalong but straight back into that fantastic riff to carry the verse. Out of nowhere the song drops into another absolutely disgusting breakdown before hitting a guitar solo which from what I know of the band, definitely sounds like Mike. Si’s drumwork on this track is also pretty bloody outstanding, proper tight playing, nothing sounds wasted or too much: bang your head to his rhythm, he commands it.
FFO: Valis Ablaze, Monuments, Jinjer, TesseracT
- ‘Clouded Minds & Silver Lines’ is released on 15 May. You can get your copy HERE.
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