Carcer City

Infinite // Unknown

Written by: MAK on 14/10/2016 13:40:46

Following the success of their 2012 début, “The Road Journals”, Liverpool, United Kingdom’s Carcer City quickly became one of the most talked about metalcore bands in the country; however, their fast rise was cut short by a tour bus crash in Switzerland the following year. Band members suffered physical and psychological damage, and their equipment and vehicle were destroyed, suddenly transforming the dream into their worst nightmare. The band’s determination never waned though, and with the help of their loyal fans, they picked things back up in 2014 and continued touring again — but things were different. Carcer City returned with a new line-up and rebooted sound, and had a fresh perspective on life and music that would hone them into the band they are today.

“Infinite // Unknown” is a collection of twelve songs packed full of technical grooves and captivating atmospherics. Delivered with a level of ferocity and melody we haven’t seen before from the Liverpool-based outfit. Opening track “Infiltrator” kicks off with entrancing ethereal synths, the soothing sounds easing you in before the brutal sound of djent-like grooving riffs and punchy beats completely changes the song’s dynamic. A mixture of deep growls and throaty shouts are well balanced out by clean singing vocals, completing the impression of an opener that shows us everything that will be on offer throughout the rest of the record. The outing is far more ambitious than its predecessor, and it soon becomes apparent that the basic metalcore roots that Carcer City made their name off, are slowly being pushed aside for the band’s tech-metal influences to bleed through. The riffs and double-beat blasts come in waves of mixed time signatures, calculated in a way to keep you guessing — not too dissimilar to the majority of what Architects have been delivering since putting out “Hollow Crown” in 2009. Carcer City just take a more grandiose progressive approach in their delivery. “Black Mirror” for one starts off with the same tranquil start as the opener, and in the same manner kicks in with a sincere brutality shortly after. In the background, you notice soft synthetic keyboards melodies just placed on top of the heavy sounds. The depth of the song keeps growing with layered voices singing towards an anthemic end to a degree I’ve previously only heard Underoath pull off with success when it comes to aggressive music.

That same epic nature flows strongly throughout the album, and is displayed even more impressively in songs such as “Covington” and “Nothing but the Rain”, culminating in the two-part finale comprising “Truth Pt. I (Nothing is Real)” and “Truth Pt. II (Everything is Permitted)”. The first part is a cinematic masterpiece with sampled voices pondering the meaning of truth and free will, with those entrancing atmospherics put to heavy use. This leads into the album’s closer, which is an all-out metalcore assault showcasing a distillation of the best aspects of the record as a whole: the coolest of synth melodies, the harshest of breakdowns and the biggest vocal hooks combine to form the most monumental ending the band could have envisioned.

Much of “Infinite // Unknown” thus stands out for its complexity when compared to other albums within metalcore. The near-perfect mix of melody and brutality helps elevate Carcer City to one of the most impressive songwriting teams amongst modern representatives of the genre, and the refreshing break from the mould of where metalcore has been heading over the past few years makes “Infinite // Unknown” stand out in an extremely positive light. Even more impressive is that you can feel the best material is yet to come from these scousers.

8

Download: Black Mirror, Nothing but the Rain, Sovereign, Truth Pt. II (Everything is Permitted)
For The Fans Of: Architects, Demoraliser, Heart of a Coward, Northlane
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 16.09.2016
StaySick Recordings

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.