Review Summary: Three albums later, Currents struggle at times with variation throughout the record, yet continue to establish their sound and produce an impressive and distinct album.
Connecticut metalcore band Currents have made a name for themselves by incorporating technical guitar work and attempting to distinguish themselves in a genre where doing so can prove to be difficult. The Death We Seek is a follow-up to their second album The Way It Ends, which introduced more soaring choruses while keeping much of the same instrumentation as their first record.
The title track sets the tone with a crunching riff to open, followed by Brian Wille’s bellowing clean vocals “Serenity, always running from me.” We also see some of the skillful guitar explode throughout the song. Living In Tragedy’s interestingly combines synth-like touches which are somewhat reminiscent of Origin from their last album. Some of Wille’s deepest gutturals seen to date appear, along with another clean chorus.
The next two tracks next follow a more classical metalcore structure, showcasing clean vocals and even a guitar solo, something we have seen somewhat sparingly from Currents at times. Arguably the best song on the record, So Alone features an epic-feeling chorus alongside a heavy breakdown and a quieter ambient section- a formula seen on their previous record.
The next three tracks implement some guitar that sounds more like their earlier work from The Place I Feel Safest, yet feel a bit more repetitive and don’t add much in terms of variation to the album. Remember Me is a step back in the right direction with a quieter start that explodes quickly. Guide Us Home provides an excellent guitar solo towards the end, providing a fitting ending and a strong close to the album.
The Death We Seek clocks in at 40 minutes with 10 tracks. Much of the lyrical content is dark and largely does a good job of being too cliché and become introspective at times: “Our bones are tired and bruised, but it's warming to sit in silence with brightened eyes as we start anew.” The album’s biggest drawback is some of the repetitiveness that plagues it- especially in the middle. Nonetheless, The Death We Seek does enough to shift the band’s overall sound from its previous records, still utilizing similar soundscapes.
There also seems to the lack of a single track as a clear standout. This may both be because of the incorporation of more similar-sounding clean choruses, but also because of the solid consistency throughout the record. Only three albums in, Currents have established a unique enough sound while continuing to throw in more choruses while still unearthing heavier vocals.
Over time, listeners should be able to pick and choose what they enjoy the best, especially as there remains a solid amount of instrumental variation. Currents continue to move in the right direction.
Top tracks:
So Alone
Remember Me
Unfamiliar
The Death We Seek
