Genre : Progressive metalcore, Progressive metal, Mathcore
Released : September 16th, 2022
Label : 3 Dot Recordings / Century Media Records
FFO : Periphery, SikTh, Twelve Foot Ninja, The Callous Daoboys, black midi
From early on in their career, the Italian progressive, experimental metalcore powerhouse Destrage have had a sound, attitude and energy that is decidedly theirs as they approach technical heavy music with an always heavy dose of satire and humor.
Freshly signed to the recently established, Periphery-owned 3 Dot Recordings, Destrage confirm this affirmation with their newest album "SO MUCH.too much." which sees the band reach even more versatile, creative and unpredictable heights.
From the blistering and mathy first few tracks riddled witch glitching electronics "A Commercial Break That Lasts Forever" and "Everything Sucks And I'm A Big Part Of It" to the satirical, self-deprecating and genre-blending "Italian Boi" and the KoЯn-inspired hooks of the proggy "Private Party" which features guest songwriting from prog master Devin Townsend ;
Destrage, like the album title directly suggests, have so much to offer here...
And that's not even half of it!
Throughout the record, as is often custom when it comes to these fine signori and similarly to Between the Buried and Me's songwriting style, you never know in which zany direction the music will take you next, which technical prowesses or jarring stylistical steep turns await.
But also, in a way that brings the US mathcore troupe The Callous Daoboys to mind, you can be sure that no matter how batshit insane and even confusing the songwriting gets, you will often have a huge vocal hook to anchor yourself upon in order to not get completely swept by the raging tempest assaulting your poor confused brain.
Amongst all the chaos and stylistical shape-shifting, "SO MUCH. too much." still succeeds in being a cohesive piece of music that flows smoothly from track to track. Yes, even when it transitions from soft classical guitar interlude "Rimashi" into one of the more unbridled tracks of the album, "Unisex Unibrow" until the record eventually reaches its conclusion with the electro-accoustic closer "Everything Sucks Less" and its hilarious contrast between its smooth, joyful tone and melody and the harsh, vengeful, aggressive lyrics.
In a category of heavy music where technicality, originality and creativity are key to maintaining relevance and setting oneself apart from the many other acts that possess these qualities, Destrage have once more proven that they are still part of the "black sheeps" of the progressive heavy music scene with a style and identity that is decidedly theirs and would be incredibly hard to replicate.
"SO MUCH. too much." showcases a band currently at the top of their craft with a hunger for more and you can tell that beyond the efforts that must have gone into the making of this album, Destrage had a lot of fun in the crafting of these songs, which definitely transpires through their music in a way that is genuinely infectious.
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