By Monk
I first came across the metalcore heft of Dundalk crew Words That Burn when they absolutely blew me away with their superlative-overriding second album, ‘Pyres’, which more than ably demonstrated their ability to both combine generic tropes and push them to their extreme. It may have taken them four years to craft the follow-up (well, there has been the small matter of a global pandemic which Covidicated so many aspects of all our lives), but boy have they proven that they have not lost any of their ability to rip heads off at a thousand paces with this declarative third opus.
Now, let me get this clear from the beginning: regular readers will know that I am not a big fan of metalcore. But, like any genre, when it is done well, and has the power to grab you by the balls and bounce you off the nearest wall, then you have to pay attention. And that is the power that WTB possess, as they make it impossible for you to ignore the sheer glorious insanity that is embracing you from the first to the last second of what is another absolutely stunning album.
As I said in my review of the aforementioned ‘Pyres‘, where WTB really succeed, and where many of their contemporaries fail, is in their stunning use of aural contrasts – pummelling you one second, then easing right back before launching once more into the fray, Roni MacRuairi’s vocals consistently and inherently drawing out the underlying sense of melody of which WTB never lose sight, despite some of the absolutely brutal sonic beatdowns which the band to continue to deliver.
As I said, WTB have never been a band afraid to push the tropic boundaries of the metalcore mien, and they defiantly tug at them even harder here, bringing in elements of symphonic metal, with huge string orchestrations adding to the multiple layers of atmosphere generated in this stunningly constructed album, and even gothic industrialism of the sort that would make Rammstein blush with envy, not to mention defiant nu metal touches that evoke the feeling of Ghost jamming with Slipknot. Fuck, there’s even EDM thrown into the mix to really mess with your preconceptions.
I’m not going to pick out individual tracks here, as each and every one is fucking HUGE. This is an album that is as complete as an album can come, combining multiple musical themes and ideas into a brilliantly realized work of art. If words do indeed burn, throw me in the fire.
- ‘Cut Throat Culture‘ is released on 16 March.
- Words That Burn play the Siege Of Limerick festival on Sunday 9 April.
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