Review Summary: The hand of God never feeds
Veterans in the metalcore scene, Like Moths to Flames unleashed their fifth studio record which features a much more sophisticated, technical approach to their usual unhinged and emotional style of heavy music. Following up their 2017 effort ‘Dark Divine’ which explored more melodic avenues which ventured into a more radio-friendly territory, ‘No Eternity in Gold’ eliminates any notion of airplay yearning with dense, groovy rhythms in similar vein to a Meshuggah or After the Burial coupled with unusual and haunting lead guitar melodies. Chris Roetter’s vocal performance is also much more visceral and fueled with much more focus on the dynamics of his harsh, animalistic roars. While his clean singing voice doesn’t take a backseat by any means with a ton of big melodic hooks featured in the choruses on this record, it’s certainly less prominent save a few tracks which have a moodier, ballad-y quality to them.
The production clarity on ‘No Eternity in Gold’ is immaculate with every instrument prominently showcased in the mix and nary a feature over-powered by another. The guitar tone in particular is unmatched with a ton of bite yet plenty of soul and lucidity when the leadwork kicks in. This becomes evident in the first moments when the distorted/lo-fi guitar riff kicks in on “The Anatomy of Evil” which erupts into a massive wall of sound with techy lead work and thick bass undertones. The track twists and turns with huge instrumental build-ups, a massive soaring chorus and crushing double-kick drum patterns. The lyrics tackle primeval personal mental struggles with gruesome poetic imagery in lines such as “Sever my head from the neck/If hell exists then it resembles/Everything that I can't forget/Detach my skin from the bone/If hell exists then I admit that/I'll be better ***ing burning alone.” It’s pretty standard fair but Chris’ delivery is impassioned, and he sells every word he screams in the song.
An iconic element of modern metalcore is the amalgamation of heavy intensity and melodic pop sensibilities and while Like Moths to Flames have employed this throughout their career, ‘No Eternity in Gold’ closes the contrast more than most bands do with heavier elements creeping into the huge, melodic choruses. This takes the form of heavier guitar rhythms and more technical drum work that’s still orchestrated under Chris’ clean melodies creating this calculated chaos that’s a bit denser and more nuanced then your average modern metalcore record. “Fluorescent White” is a great example, opening with a brutal fast paced riff fest and Chris’ fiery vocal delivery that never relents. While the chorus is the vessel for a break in the torrid pace, it’s still aggressive, cold and calculated. The technicality of the lead guitar work continues to be a highlight for me on most of these tracks, having been used to a more traditional chug-heavy style on their previous records ‘An Eye for An Eye’ and ‘The Dying Things We Live For,’ these more complicated passages are a welcome change to their core sound.
One of the more accessible tracks “Killing What’s Underneath” still commiserates the misery and anger that Chris’ releases with the heavier tracks. It’s a bit more subtle and features a more similar tone to ‘Dark Divine’ with cleanly sung verses along with a very pop-sensible hooky chorus. The song certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes some chunk and aggression however with a break in the bridge that lets loose a bit with some groovy foot stomping chugs. Lyrically, Chris continues to explore mortality and the internal struggle with negative emotions especially with the opening lines “A celestial fix transcending through consciousness/A glimpse of the edge, I'd fall to feel again.” Having experienced these sorts of emotions and struggles throughout my life as well, Chris’ lyrics often feel very relatable or more so an exaggeration or hyperbole of my own feelings. His delivery has always been unique when compared to his contemporaries as well as his lyrics being extremely viscerally angry yet sad, propitiously providing an outlet for those feelings as well as providing the listeners an avenue to explore their own struggles with a soundtrack.
The closing track “Spiritual Eclipse” commences with a dreary, swampy clean guitar melody that eventually breaks into controlled chaos with more big riffs and interesting songwriting choices. The song weaves through immense breakdowns and chunky rhythms leading up a massive drop accentuated by Chris’ roars of the title of the record “There’s no eternity in gold.” It’s slow and sludgy like molasses in a swamp. It’s a brutal way to cap off an aggressive record and excellent aggressive at that.
I didn’t feel the need to go extremely in depth on every track even though each of them does have a truly unique identity and features excellent instrumentation and songwriting. The only track that doesn’t feel as strong is “Demon of My Own” which kind of meanders along at a slow pace with very little in terms of payoff instrumentally and sonically; it does feature some very nice lyricism tackling the subject of self-doubt in terms of a relationship and the fear of losing someone you love. Some standout features of the record is the awkward timed chorus melody on “YOTM” which when released certainly divided fans over it’s obscure, awkward time signature and deliver but I find it quite progressive and unique for this band. “Habitual Decline” is also one of my favorite tracks on here delivering the quintessential metalcore track with a massive lead guitar melody, huge walls of noise in terms of guitar riffs, bass tone and drum work and to top it off some explosive breakdown drops.
It's fantastic record front to back and rejuvenates a band that might have felt like they were on the fritz or living on borrowed time in terms of longevity. This reestablishment of their core and their identity proves to be essential to their success with a quick follow up E.P. that continues the exploration of this sound with equally competent and interesting songs.
Highlights:
“The Anatomy of Evil”
“Habitual Decline”
“Fluorescent White”
“Killing What’s Underneath”
“Spiritual Eclipse”
