As well as heralding the renewed political manifesto/career of their incumbent political leader Macron, the French have also decided to birth something far more palatable unto the world in the form of the hideously named trio Cleaver. Now it is certainly not for me to poke fun and scoff at a band’s chosen moniker but given the delicate although bruising post metalcore/hardcore on show on this, the band’s first album, I cannot for one minute think of a worst band name. Well, that is not strictly true, I could come up with something far, far worse but that is a road that I am not getting paid to go down, nor does my mood this morning allow me to take on my usual meandering flights of fancy before tying myself up in a slew of mis-proposed similes and inappropriately conceived metaphors. But come on lads, Cleaver, at best, sounds like a third rate gore-grind band from the southern states of America, who’s cover art for their one and only EP, features a semi clothed female being dragged by the hair by a marauding miscreant, caked in blood and faeces with a machete (no, not a cleaver, that would simply be too ‘on the nose’ but not totally out of the question) into his cookhouse for what is probably not a drawing competition followed by a conversation around how the Good Friday Agreement was put together.

Still, what is in a band name, eh? And to be honest, after giving this album a few metaphorical spins, it would be a disservice to hang dripping threads of snot infused cynicism onto the band’s curtains, when all we should be doing, is focusing on the music. And what we have here, is an interesting, soul-searching enjoyable box of agit metal, that does not simply open its heart and spill out its troubles, it literally inverts its inner organs and jumps off a 20-storey building and lands itself in drains, gutters, hedges and car roof boxes. This collection of songs, on the face of it, feels incredible earnest, songs that come caked in emptiness and despair with an outside crust of boils, puss and anger. Musically though, it is an interesting proposition, as it veers from the chaotic metallic maelstrom of say The Chariot on their most angry of days (which to be honest was most days), with a soupcon of jazz bathed, beautiful, barbed Botch flavoured riffs that spill from Cleaver’s guts like a pigeon caught on a particularly sharp piece of barbed wire and then attempting the Macarena.

There are also times, where the spoken word passages and phraseology of the lyrics reminds me a little of System Of A Down in that it’s immediately followed by a percussive and thunderous cavalcade of chugging riffs and syncopated vocals, that bite, snap and crackle with menace and purpose. It is enough to get Old Father Griffiths’s foot a tapping. Amongst the metallic frenzy that is the beating heart of this album, there are periods of relative calm and reflection that would not sound out of place on a Cave In or Failure album but it’s the tempo, veering all over the shop like a Hyena with her front legs caught in a bear trap attempting to bring down an Oryz, that’s one of the most propellant forces at work here. It is clever the way this album paces itself and does not meander into the middle lane and stagnate. There is much to admire on this record but there are also moments that veer a little two close to fan worship (SOAD again) and it’s these parts of the album that sound slightly derivative and lazy, certainly when contrasted to much of what is good on this album. The accompanying PR fluff also references one of my favourite band’s Poison The Well as an influence, and yes you can see what they mean, as Cleaver delicately handle the pirouette between beast mode guitars and the impassioned and heartful vocal delivery. Cleaver have enough good to great moments on this album coupled with, with what I would say are enjoyable and on point (for me at least) reference points in terms of band’s that this is influenced by, to make this an enjoyable listen, with enough originality and inventiveness to raise this above average and hence an album and a band that I will gladly listen to again.

(7/10 Nick Griffiths)

https://www.facebook.com/cleavermusicband

https://cleavermusicband.bandcamp.com/album/no-more-must-crawl