Genre : Experimental metalcore, Shoegaze, Djent, Chaotic hardcore, Ambient
Release date : February 7th, 2020
Label : SharpTone Records
FFO : Meshuggah, Deftones, Sleep Token, Vein
As a newcomer to this band, I was thoroughly impressed and instantly hooked by what Loathe have to offer here on "I Let It In And It Took Everything".
The album feels like a journey through a spectrum of various tones, colours and emotions and it presents a young band exploring its creative potential by masterfully combining their influences with their own original ideas.
As the album opens up with an ambient, cinematic instrumental, we are shortly met with aggressive riffage, frantic drumming and harsh vocals colliding with clean, soothing, shoegazy vocals which could easily belong on a Deftones record (in fact, the entirety of the shoegaze sections on this album are very reminiscent of Deftones, which is something the band does not shy away from).
Thus begins the listener's journey through this genre-blending but also genre-bending album, jumping from stupidly heavy djenty riffs, to dreamy shoegaze and its ethereal vocal harmonies before diving back into the heavier side of things with spasmodic mathcore and even a short but furious blast of black metal.
The schizophrenic nature of this album kind of reminds me of how Between the Buried and Me used to structure their earlier material, or more recently, how Sleep Token managed to blur the lines between different musical genres within a single track.
The overall atmosphere of this album is absolutely intense and, without trying to sound cliché, will definitely leave you on the edge of your seat, with its sludgy bass, at times screeching guitars, ominous synths and samples topped with its blood chilling harsh vocals.
As for the thematic of the album, @themetaltris emitted the possibility of it being linked to mental health in his recent review of the album (definitely go check out his YouTube channel for some amazing in-depth album reviews if you're not already familiar with it), which would most definitely make sense given the unstable, ever-changing nature of the music on the album.
However, I feel like it is left open to personal interpretation for every listener, which makes it all the more interesting and thought-provoking, which is, after all, one of art's main purposes.
This is definitely one of the most refreshing, unique and creative recent releases I've heard and could very possibly end up being my AOTY.
It is beauty, it is violence. It is panic, it is peace.
Do yourselves a favour and give this one a listen, it's a trip worth going through.
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