Review Summary: In which wearing your influences on your sleeve actually results in something solid
It would be far too easy and cynical for one to simply dismiss the new Wristmeetrazor LP as nostalgic “trve skramz” worship. From the fact that their name is a reference to a Usurp Synapse song to the unmistakably stylistic cover art by Pg.99’s Chris Taylor that adorns it, it would be easy to assume that this short disc is but a mere product of worship and little more. This assumption would of course be a mistake to make.
While the 20-minute runtime might be disappointing to those expecting drawn-out, epic post-rock passages with twinkly fret tapping and all that bullsh
it, one must remember that old ‘Wrist is instead attempting to ventilate it’s inner demons by means of spastic, rhythmic guitar assaults. “In Line for Halos” has a particularly great outro to it with a nice stop-and-go rhythm and soaring vocals somewhat comparable to those blessed by us from Skycamefalling. Overall in fact this band tends to derive their sound from a blend of screamo and early 2000’s metalcore groups, similar to that of later Love Lost But Not Forgotten.
Lyrically, this band can be a mixed bag. Though appropriately delivered by means of throaty screams or soaring chants (like on the Deftones-esque build up on “Come On In, the Water’s Pink”), the occasional corny and/or cliched line about rotting hearts or how nothing lasts forever will creep in. Clearly personal in writing however, there are some great lines to be had such as “We’ve spent a million life times apart, what’s one more?” (from "Expiry Date: 12 Hours") or the unusually mocking nature of “XOXO (Love Letter from a Loaded Gun)” as a whole.
Anyways, if dark and emotive metalcore reminiscent of the glory days of when anything involving “-core” was all Sputnik would be about is the kind of sh
it you’re into, then Misery Never Forgets should be right up your alley. It’s essentially one of the rare instances in which a band wearing it’s influences on its sleeve actually resulted in something really solid.
