Think you've heard all the twists Metalcore
has to offer as the increasingly-overstuffed genre kicks
and screams its way skyward from the underbelly of the do-it-yourself
network and into more “mainstream” outlets? Do
you find yourself wondering if there's anything left to contribute
to the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal? Well, while the
rest of the world was busy chewing all the flesh from the
bones of the scream-sing scene's cadaver, The Agony Scene
decided to square themselves away in a Deliverance-worthy
environment, buckle down and reinvent the wheel.
And now they've emerged with a sharpened musical battle-axe
called The Darkest Red, an album poised to crack the contents
of each and every spectator's skull all over the floor. "We
are really, really proud of this album," declares drummer
(and co-founding member) Brent Masters. "When we wrote
The Darkest Red, we weren't taking much of an influence from
anybody. We were just writing parts that felt good to us." "We
have new members and you can hear everybody's input,” adds
singer Mike Williams, not to be confused with the EyeHateGod
screamer of the same name. “We put a lot into this
record because we were trying to break away from being The
Agony Scene that everyone knew."
The band's self-titled debut (produced by Killswitch Engage's
Adam D.) was filled with promise, but admittedly saw them
wearing their Swedish Death Metal and dissonance-soaked hardcore
influences on their sleeves. It was a solid start... But
with this new album, their first since reforming with a recharged
lineup after a rocky breakup, The Agony Scene have fully
come into their own. The Darkest Red fuses crusty-punk dissonance,
crushingly brutal breakdowns, European metallic-harmony,
a bit of melodic singing and pulverizing rhythms like never
before. The entire proceedings have been injected with a
disharmonic breadth and expansive destruction.
The album's title track captures the fresh energy from the
first time Williams, Masters, and longtime guitarist Chris
Emmons hit the practice space with new bassist Brian Hodges
and new guitarist Steve Kaye after a hiatus that included
the birth of Williams' first child. "The title track
is the first thing we wrote - we were trying to go in a new
direction and it was our first attempt at making our own
thing," explains Williams. "We were all so thrilled
to be in a room playing together. That song is the most defining
for us as a band." "Screams Turn To Silence" is
another standout track. The album's first single, "Prey," is
the fruit of the band laboring to perfect their skills, with
its adept blend of melody and heavy barrage.
"We've really developed our own sound. We've gotten
all musicians together that really click, as far as playing,
and our music naturally matured as a result of finding that
right combination," Masters says. "It's what I've
always thought The Agony Scene should sound like in my mind," he
adds. It's a vision that new producer Rob Caggiono (Cradle
Of Filth) was able to bring to light with his emphasis on
eliciting top-notch performances. "Rob's a total workaholic
and he wouldn't accept anything other than our absolute best," beams
Williams.
It's all a sonic brew that could not have been birthed anywhere
other than the middle of nowhere. Heavy metal, sweat-soaked
hardcore and punk rock have all enjoyed plenty of contributions
from Europe and coastal North America: areas that have produced
genre-defining bands, to be sure, but have alternately been
burdened by an even larger glut of cannibalizing copycats
taking their cues from each other rather than true life experience
and inspiration.
Unless you're looking to work at Whirlpool or State Farm
Insurance there's not much to do in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The
town where the American Indian population ended the infamous "Trail
Of Tears" in 1836 is desolate, isolating, and of little
comfort to the artistically inclined. "Mike and I have
been in bands together since I was thirteen, and growing
up where we did, it made our mindset different, our sense
of humor, a lot of things," explains Masters. "I
don't want to bash anyone from bigger cities with more of
a music scene, but basically, we don't have 'peers' where
we come from. There is really no heavy music scene. We write
music for ourselves as opposed to latching onto a bandwagon," adds
Williams.
"We were trying to create something out of nothing.
What we write is honest.”
Welcome to The Agony Scene. Welcome to the very loud sound
of the American waste. |
