Genre : Mathcore
Released : April 22nd, 2022
Label : Dark Trail Records
FFO : Daughters, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Callous Daoboys, Willzyx
Jesus fucking Christ.
I'm gonna try and keep this one short, unfiltered and straight to the point, just like Black Matter Device have done here on their new record, "Autonomous Weapons".
Fourteen tracks, twenty-six minutes and a multitude of influences drawing from extreme music's most chaotic subgenres and acts; with this new album, BMD have crafted an unforgettable and exhilarating experience that not only serves as a love letter to mathcore and chaotic music in general, but also acts as a shining beacon signaling to all who care to listen that the scene for this style of music is alive and well, in fact it's never been better.
So to anyone who feels like they were "bOrn iN tHe wRonG GeneRatiOn" when it comes to good music or that "rOck & RoLL is dEaD", educate yourselves, do some research, pull your heads out of your self-absorbed asses or spare us your ignorance and unwillingness to move past the the fucking 70's.
This shit is as real as it gets, and if that had somehow slipped your notice, the band gently reminds you on their Bandcamp page that they've put their "[...] blood, sweat, tears and piss into this record".
Joe Strummer might be long dead, Iggy Pop might've sobered up and the Ramones are more associated with fast-fashion than punk nowadays but the spirit of punk lingers on within bands like BMD that put in all that they've got to make music that is clever, confrontational and authentic as can be.
"Autonomous Weapons" sets the bar high for current mathcore standards while also channeling some of the genre's defining pillars, such as Daughters' "Canada Songs" and Dillinger's "Calculating Infinity".
There's so much going on at such a frantic pace that it feels as though the band somehow manage to stretch out the the very fabric of time, making a mere twenty-six minutes feel like at least twice that amount. And for once, that is a very good thing since I want to be able to spend as much time as possible within the tumultuous kaleidoscope of this record and really soak it up.
It's going to be hard topping this one off, this year at least.
But for now, "Autonomous Weapons" has made itself comfortable at the top of my favourite mathcore releases so far.
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