Albums of the Week: 08/02/19 (Ithaca, Queen Zee, Maestus)

As stated on my Facebook last week, these past two Fridays have been pretty dry for releases, so I’m putting them in the same post together. Still only three albums, but what can you do?

Ithaca – The Language of Injury

9/10

Best Tracks: New Covenant, Impulse Crush, Gilt

FFO: Rolo Tomassi, Palm Reader, Employed To Serve

Here’s a band that know how to push my buttons. Any breakdown which utilises discords like The Dillinger Escape Plan will make me go weak at the knees. If that kind of stuff is for you, this album is for you as well.

Whilst it has it’s roots in hardcore, what’s most impressive about Ithaca’s debut record is the flawlessness of the integration of so many different influences. Take the opening track, New Covenant, for example; it’s a song which begins with pounding drums and distant screamed vocals buried under an ocean of guitar feedback, before transitioning into a verse which flirts simultaneously with Mastodon, Oathbreaker, and Rolo Tomassi in the space of 30 seconds. It then kicks into an Employed To Serve-style riff peppered with fiery guitar licks, and the song ends with then an even nastier breakdown which could’ve come straight off a Code Orange record. And that’s just one song. Similarly to Vein’s Errorzone last year, this amalgam of influence never feels gratuitous in that The Language of Injury is a Frankenstein’s monster of an album; a plethora of brilliant styles intricately sown together to create a wholly original beast.  

The real stunner on the record comes in the form of the penultimate track - Gilt. Songs like Impulse Crush and Slow Negative Order are fantastic as blasts of technically-minded hardcore brilliance, but Gilt makes them seem like simply the starting point for Ithaca. It’s where the Rolo Tomassi influence can be heard most obviously, with an eerily beautiful clean-vocal passage sandwiched between hulking, spiteful, screaming verses. The track makes it apparent that the band’s potential isn’t quite fulfilled yet, and that’s a very exciting prospect.

Holy Roar Records, to put it bluntly, have been on a mad one as of late. They’ve established themselves as the bastions of heavy music in the UK, showcasing the youngest and brightest talent this nation has to offer on an almost weekly basis. It’s absolutely no surprise at all that their latest release is as good as this. In the grand scheme of things, this album has pushed Ithaca up a level, and they are a wonderful addition to the ever-growing British metal scene. The Language of Injury is not only a damn strong debut, but also my album of the week(s).

Queen Zee – Queen Zee

6/10

Best Tracks: Lucy Fur, Victim Age, I Hate Your New Boyfriend

FFO: Cabbage, Petrol Girls, FIDLAR

I first encountered Queen Zee (or Queen Zee and The Sasstones, as they were called then) when they supported Marmozets on their UK tour in 2017. I was impressed by their live performance, loving their brand of snotty, rough-around-the-edges punk with lyrics concerning a total disregard for gender norms and disdain for ex-partners. However, I’ve since felt that they’ve been unable to transplant the same energy onto their recorded content.

Whilst I still feel the same is true of their self-titled debut, there’s no denying that the passion put into this album comes across fantastically. From the sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and vocal delivery to the treble-heavy guitar tones marrying some beefy basslines, Queen Zee showcases a great grasp of the band’s genre - Lucy Fur and I Hate Your New Boyfriend standing out in particular as good old-fashioned scrappy, shout-along punk anthems. Where the record falls flat, unfortunately, is on the clunky songwriting of tracks like Porno and Hunger Pains. Something about a few of these songs feels incomplete, in a way; a theme which almost ends up enveloping the album as a whole. Still, it likely won’t mar the experience for you if you’re looking for a collection of solidly raucous punk-rock tunes (and also if you’ve got some strong feelings about gender roles).

Maestus – Deliquesce

8/10

Best Tracks: Deliquesce, Knell of Solemnity

FFO: Bell Witch, Pallbearer, Paradise Lost

This album was only recently recommended to me, and I was slightly skeptical when the first track lead in with a grand piano. However, as soon as Deliquesce kicks in, it traps you under it’s spell and refuses to set you free until the end of the final song.

This second album from Oregon’s Maestus is a blackened doom epic which almost manages to transcend the limitations of its form through sheer cinematic scope. The utilisation of strings, keys, and synths across the canvas of this album is brilliant, weaving in and out of the villainously heavy guitars and percussion flawlessly. The vocals are reminiscent of what I imagine Conjurer and Behemoth would sound like wading through a swamp carrying anvils on their backs. It’s a seriously weighty record, evoking bleak imagery not unlike the album artwork itself; this is the album that Charon probably listens to as he rows damned souls across the river Styx.

To somebody unfamiliar with doom metal, a four-track album lasting 50 minutes may look a little daunting, but I’d urge you to give this Maestus LP a fair chance – it’ll hold your attention more readily than you might think.