In the middle of June, the debut album of American metalcore band Interloper was released through Nuclear Blast Records, making a very good and vigorous start. These musicians aren’t some immature novices, and despite their young age (25+), they have a ten-year musical experience and absolutely amazing tech skills.
The band states, that they create a new style of music that fans of all genres can enjoy. So, the musicians seem to be a bit disingenuous, because there’s too much metalcore base and progressive background. But, in a way, that doesn’t sound like a lie as well, “Search Party” is very open-minded and deep record, catchy and accessible, so it truly can be an enjoyable experience for metalheads and likewise for the lovers of alternative/pop rock. They are truly talented and aren’t afraid to sound annoyingly technical or too soft, everything is well-coordinated here, and together constructs the multi-layered and coherent music.
All the progressive elements create a solid foundation for this record, although the technical nerdiness sometimes comes up to the surface, especially in guitar work (some crazy solos really kill off, especially on “Idle Years”). But synthetic elements are responsible for softness and atmospheric emphasis, so the most thoughtful and atmospheric songs really depend on these symphonic highlights (“Dreamlands” or “Drift”). Acoustic elements also add some extra pensiveness and even seriousness on the self-titled track “Search Party”, the slowest on this record. A tiny bit of discord of mathcore also can be applied to the debut album of these Californians, so certain disharmonic details cover it with slight experimental veil (“Moonlight”).
“Drift” is the closest to the music of Rings of Saturn, where their drummer Aaron Stechauner and guitarist Miles Baker used to play, but still it’s too light and melodic for the non-compromised and cory sound of RoS. The melodic death metal and typical metalcore rhythms are kind of omnipresent, defining in general terms the second part of framework, along the progressive side. And the mdm on the composition “Baring Teeth” is almost familiar to mdm/power metal conception; this track also shows some surprises, like southern/bluesy passage, fitted more to indie rock. The singer Andrew Virrueta uses his voice well, his singing abilities sometimes underline the progressiveness (especially on “Search Party” or emotional “Idle Years”). Mostly he prefers the clean singing, though the extreme passages from time to time pop up and make the songs heavier and darker. And this album ends up with a cover of classical pop song of Duran Duran “Rio”, a bit disharmonious and not so soft, but still recognizable and fun.
Interloper has managed to produce not only high-quality debut album, but also original and very intelligible, not worrying about metal boundaries, and unleashing the free artistic spirit without restraint. Melodic vividness and charming progressive background confidently flow through “Search Party” in such a discreet manner, that the urge to listen it again and again consciously arises.
Release date: June 11th, 2021
https://www.facebook.com/InterloperOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/interloperofficialgram/
If you really would like to support Antichrist, you can just Share our article.
You can also support Antichrist by sending a couple bucks to cover some webhosting expenses. =>> PayPal
