Review Summary: I think nu-metal may have a pulse! Yes, it's faint, but I can feel it.
There’s something to be said about everyone saying nu-metal is dead: it’s about time we have another decent nu-metal band, isn’t it? I was surprised at how it seemed that asides from being on Spotify (who isn’t though?) Anti-Clone really don’t have anything anywhere. They didn’t even exist here until I just created them now, and their first EP,
Hands Sewn Together, came out nearly four years ago in 2014. As someone who is not into nu-metal at all, I listened to this album with doubt, and I came out of it pleasantly surprised.
What they do, they do solidly, but not perfectly. Their introduction,
The Root of Man, tells you exactly what this band is: nihilistic, slightly melodramatic, apocalyptic, and not at all ashamed of it.
Deracinated, the second track and first proper song, kicks off from the back of the intro track, with pretty good production, and a strong bass guitar. The lead vocalist (on their website referred to as Mr Clone, embarrassingly) delivers half-sung, strained vocals, with whispered and growled vocals backing him in an unobtrusive manner. The only thing that is slightly cringe-worthy is the outro of repeated “Kill it and cut it/Then you f*ck it and eat it.” I don’t usually mind swearing in music, but something about this seem too forced, but that might be personal preference.
Their topic, “The Root of Man”, is successfully continued through the album, without as much of the cringey swearing (it returns occasionally, but never as much as that first full song). A few songs continue the trend of angsty (a positive or negative thing depending on the listener) lyrics,
Switchblade having the bridge of “Oh no, I’m not a freak/Don’t you call me a freak” over another masterful build-up, although it could have ended a bar or two sooner without detracting from the song.
A lot of the album is similar, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as all the tracks have something different and memorable about them. However, interesting points come when they change the heavy formula up a bit, such as verses of
B9, which are based mostly around a repeated and very catchy drum beat, before going into one of the more successfully choruses of the album. They stick to doing exactly what they need to do, and showing their excellent capabilities in the genre. They successfully pull off the uncluttered instrumental work, mostly due to not trying to do anything too immensely technical (although there are flourishes here and there, and the drum work is interesting in most tracks).
Mechanical Heart has a distinguishing groove given by the arpeggiated guitar and a faster pace than some of the others. It doesn’t have any negatives, and I would easily call it another of the best songs on the album, and shows their ability to write catchy lyrics, and good hooks. Similarly, Feed the Machine brings it back straight away, renewed and invigorated with a more successfully call-and-response chorus. If these had been at the start of the album, I think I’d have been disappointed with a few of the other songs.
Comaspace, in direct contrast, is a slow and relaxed, more progressive track, a brief respite from the carnage before and after, with… Mr Clone… showing that his voice can manage different style altogether, that surprises me whenever I hear it. It doesn’t seem jarring at all, adding quite a lot.
Astaroth is not the strongest track, but is a personal favourite of mine. It doesn’t pretend to be anything very deep or meaningful, it doesn’t overstep any lines, it keeps everything under four minutes (what a few other tracks could have done with). It’s a head banger (what? It is!) and is unashamed of it, the near-occult outro of “Astaroth, Astaroth, Astaroth rise” bringing it to a dramatic close.
The final track,
Sentinel, is another successful track, given its length (although over a minute is fading out). The first 1:40 assaults you with complicated drum and guitar work, until it calms down to be more rock, where Mr Clone gives you another
Comaspace-like performance. It builds beautifully from there instrumentally, in a way that wouldn’t seem out of place on a progressive rock album, to come to a stunning climax, before fading out slowly for the last minute and a half.
It’s not a perfect album, and whether you’re into the Slipknot thing of being completely unrecognisable on stage (look them up) or not, I think there’s something a lot of people will enjoy (maybe guiltily), even if they don’t like nu-metal. They seem like the kind of band who doesn’t care either way, honestly. There’s promise here, and if they can tweak the few problems here, I can see them finding a niche and sticking in it.
