translation from Italian to English by Cais das Palavras
Amazing, exciting, crowning. There are no other words to describe the debut album by METZ, a Canadian band formed by Alex Edkins (guitar, voice), Hayden Menzies (drums) and Chris Slorach (bass, voice), a power-trio capable of redefining the idea of vintage ‘90s sound like very few others indeed. No surprise that Sub Pop noticed the band and hurried them into the studio after hearing their churning recordings mixed by Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) and Alexandre Bonenfant. The result is an excellent sound that captures the band at its best. The moment you press play you’re plunged into the swirling maelstrom of Headache (aptly named opening track) with its clamorous riffs and killer percussion. The architecture of the sound certainly owes something to grunge (Rats resembles a curious paraphrasing of Nirvana‘s Negative Creep) while The Mule is freely drawn from the Sonic Youth of too many years ago and its unswerving devotion to physical and sonic destruction. Your inability to sit or stand still is confirmed by the twitching, throbbing next track, Get Off, which also features the catatonic and deviant elements scattered throughout the rest of the album. You get the impression of listening to the Nine Black Alps, authors of a remarkable album a few years back. Elsewhere, the sound hurtles off into underground psychedelia and the guitar lines begin imperceptibly meandering away from the opening track before returning to crescendo. The delirious Knife in the water also soars to stratospheric heights. Delightfully cathartic and sick to the bone, obsession can be a real treat. A few gulps of air are distorted to the point where they become Nausea: an instrumental interlude that lesser bands might insert just to stretch things out upholds the same standard of excellence here. And so it goes between unexpected shudders and seizures for the rest of the album, where rage and repressed aggression threaten to explode from one moment to the next (Wet Blanket) and sound bombs keeping going off non-stop (Wasted). There’s nothing else to say – we’ve even said too much. Officially listed for best album, debut act and best band of the year, that’s how things stand this September 28th, 2012.
Label: Sub Pop
Year: 2012
Tracklist:
1. Headache
2. Get Off
3. Sad Pricks
4. Rats
5. Knife in the water
6. Nausea
7. Wet Blanket
8. Wasted
9. The Mule
10. Negative Space
Read the italian version by clicking here.
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