Its been a while since I last checked in with Emmure, often labeled as Deathcore they are mostly characterized by their obvious Nu Metal influences and a tonal "over the top" approach to the aesthetics of their sound. I personally never brought into them much beyond a handful of songs but talk of a return to form and complete lineup change, bar front man Frankie Palmeri, had my curiosity sparked. Three years since the bands last full length this new lineup has held everything that made this band what they are intact, while as always trying to turn the dial up another notch.
With a spew of short songs that barely grace the three minute mark, Emmure go full throttle through a barrage of dirty, disgusting noise eccentric riffs that bombard the listener with a constant assault of short elasticated grooves, pummeling hard on the Djent tone, accommodated by brutal drums and Frankie's fiery screams that fill the ranges as they peak the microphone for an intensive effect.
None of these songs have a sense of grandeur, theme or purpose. Instead they stride from one idea to the next, throwing just about every arrangement of two note beat down riffs at the mercy of whatever noise they can manipulate from the guitars and electronics. Sometimes these take shape like the creepy, eerie melodies reminiscent of Korn, mostly they sound unique as dystopian airy synths grace the space in the silence of the guitars which themselves make a considerable effort to throw in bends, harmonics and other oddities in the mix.
Aesthetically it comes off well, a hard hitting mix of throttling eccentricity with groove and attitude to match. On the flip side the short nature of the music and lack of coherence beyond a riff fest left the songs feeling lackluster. The constant thundering of overly loud guitar tones and heavily compressed production with no direction in sight took the wind out the aesthetics sails for me. Despite many particularly interesting ideas and oddities of noise they fall flat on a lack of direction and amount to nothing interesting beyond one or two listens.
Favorite Tracks: Russian Hotel Aftermath, Turtle In A Hare Machine
Rating: 4/10