This album is described as a “volatile mix of nu-metal, hardcore and metalcore”. The follow-up to the “Bitter Picture” EP, it is produced, mixed and mastered by Connor Sweeney, formerly of Loathe who UK TechFest attendees will know.
Starting with a fuzzy feel, but not a warm and fuzzy one, gears are cranked and we are treated to a deep, bass-heavy riff line. The vocalist’s screams are amplified. “Crossroads” demands attention with its power and anger. In sound and menace this reminded me of the old Hertfordshire Hardcore band Heights. “Hare in the Woods” is more crunchy deathcore-style, with agony and anger coming out of every note and vocal output. In there is some slinky guitar work. It’s something to think about when you’re not boiling with anger. At the end it breaks down anarchically, and surprisingly it is then toned down with the ambient waves of “An Endless Black”, continuing into “Doomed”. Djenty force cuts in menacingly. It’s as if the world is breaking down along with the music. Creak cleverly create a sense of despair and isolation as the framework for downtrodden anger and fury. The tempo threatens to pick up but obstacles are created. All in all “Doomed” is a disconcerting song. A clean chorus enters “Restless Dreams” but atmospherically it’s no less charged or angst-ridden than the others. Up and down goes the tempo. Creak make use of it with added energy and variations of mood. “Harrow” takes a more direct route initially. Electronic squeals and mist accompany the ever-powerful bass line and thunderous ambiance. A break leads to disarming quiet. The song builds up with a soft chorus before reverting gradually to its metallic self and a technical attack.
After a slower, nightmarish piece “Left to Heaven”, the title song shakes us out of our bodies with a thunderous, roaring riff. It’s like being in the depths of war as Creak crunch through this hardcore slab. The distant haunting hardcore chorus brings about a momentary sense of melancholy but this is ultimately an exercise in fire and battery. The cosmic end adds interest and intrigue, while giving the vibe always that the world is crumbling. This album isn’t one-dimensional. An eerie passage runs through “The Early Hours Know my Secrets” to reinforce the trauma. After the more conventional hardcore “Cold shoulder”, the nightmare returns with the echoing “I’m Not Alone in the Dark”, which has the feel of someone who is very afraid in the dark. Fear is here throughout, or at least the sensation of it. Electronic charges accompany the familiar bombardment to finish before “A Head Full of Rain” stops abruptly and leaves us wondering what happens next – nothing good, I suspect.
“Depth Perception” is the right title. This album plunges like a depth charge into the minds of the composers of this dark work, and takes us round the dingy world of hardcore with heavier-than-heavy passages, sound effects and pure adrenaline.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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