Review Summary: I think we're lost in the black wave.
Almost one year ago, I sat down and typed out a review for Moodring’s debut full length album,
Stargazer. Over the course of roughly six-hundred words, I desperately attempted to convince readers the band, featuring a frontman with a
White Pony logo tattoo on one side of his face and a tattoo of the Glassjaw logo on the opposite side of his face, actually wrote compelling, if not nostalgic music, overtly obvious influences be damned. Was the effort fruitful? Potentially, but the real reward of writing that review was the journey those eleven songs took me on back through my adolescence to when bands similar to Moodring’s nu-metal and alternative metal leanings shot adrenaline through my bloodstream. Life back then was simple, sweet, and bursting with excitement.
Now, essentially a year later, Moodring has returned with a three song EP titled
Your Light Fades Away. Roughly a month before release, frontman Hunter Young published a letter informing fans the band would be abstaining from touring for an indefinite amount of time due to him being diagnosed with several debilitating neurological and physical illnesses that could worsen with increased exertion. Coincidently enough, I had also been surprisingly diagnosed with a rather debilitating neurological condition myself between the release of
Stargazer and Hunter’s unexpected letter. Despite being devastated for Hunter’s recent diagnoses, I also found a strange comfort and comradery in knowing that I was not the only one begrudgingly substituting nu metal-fueled adrenaline for intravenous medicine into my bloodstream these days.
Over the course of a couple months filled with medical appointments and medication infusions, Moodring released two of the three songs as singles – first, “BLACK_WAVE”. Crashing in with grinding, sludgy down-tuned guitars, it was evident from the opening seconds Moodring was adopting a bleaker and heavier musical approach while still retaining their trademark strong melodic hooks that prevented “BLACK_WAVE” from drowning listeners in pure lightlessness. Still, I found myself noting the majority of the music and Hunter’s vocals – utilizing a raspy scream far more often – sounded genuinely furious. With every guitar string bend, I could sink along with the note in misery. With every unexpected breakdown, I could disappear into the cacophony. With every scream, I could feel my soul yearning for the same cathartic release. Regrettably, the line between art imitating life had become frighteningly blurred.
A month later, Moodring released second single, “WOULDYOUWAITFORME”. Immediately more melodic than “BLACK_WAVE”, “WOULDYOUWAITFORME” utilizes another sludgy, slightly dissonant riff to craft a threatening verse before slipping into a soaring chorus that showcases Hunter’s finest singing as he croons,
“Doomed savior, true maker/Hunt me down ‘til dusk/Would you wait for me and/Choose death or lose everything?/Strangling your love/Would you wait for me there?” Although I suspect the lyrics on offer throughout
Your Light Fades Away were written before Hunter’s diagnoses, I can’t help but correlate the lyrics of the chorus with my newlywed wife. I started noticing initial symptoms of my condition creeping into my body a few months after our honeymoon. Although I was proactive about getting checked out and demanding appointments with specialists, my condition is notoriously difficult to identify during early stages of illness. Sometimes, I make the mistake of apologizing to my wife that she married a lemon – a reference to a vehicle that ends up having a significant defect that renders it unusable. She hates when I say that to her and assures me, she would never leave me – and I believe her. But sometimes, in a quiet, vulnerable moment, I question how my health battle has affected her life, her desires, and her love for me. “WOULDYOUWAITFORME” adequately captures the gnawing anxiety that comes with trying to heal myself as quickly as possible while recognizing the undeniable toll a situation like mine has on an unwavering, patient, and unconditionally loving partner.
Finally, on release day, Moodring revealed the opening track, “SHI=DEATH”. Marrying an audible onslaught not unlike Emmure’s “Gypsy Disco” with a gratuitous amount of tasteful autotune singing during the sickeningly sweet chorus, “SHI=DEATH” showcases Moodring’s furthest deviation from the direction taken on
Stargazer. All three songs on
Your Light Fades Away find Moodring increasing the aggression both vocally and musically, gumming up the melodic hooks even further, and tinkering with song structure to keep each track sounding unpredictable and fresh. If anything, Hunter should replace the
White Pony tattoo for a
Diamond Eyes owl instead as this release is leaner and meaner than
Stargazer ever was.
The most frustrating aspect of
Your Light Fades Away’s excellence is this could be the last time we hear from Moodring. As both Hunter and I have learned recently, nothing is guaranteed in life – your health, especially. Even though the two of us barely straddle thirty years old on either side and were relatively healthy, our lives have been upended cruelly and randomly and we have little choice but to try and pick up the pieces again. Although it is incredibly tempting to withdraw into darkness and mentally embrace the title of Moodring’s latest release,
Your Light Fades Away, I’d rather find solace in suffering by appreciating the incredibly dynamic and therapeutic music that Hunter and company create, whether that means longingly reflecting on my former life during the golden age of youthful innocence or ruminating on this ugly figurative black wave that has since washed over my life.
Either way, boy, what a difference a year makes.
