Foreign Hands
What's Left Unsaid


4.5
superb

Review

by SteakByrnes USER (4 Reviews)
June 25th, 2024 | 187 replies


Release Date: 06/21/2024 | Tracklist

Review Summary: These Foreign Hands feel familiar.

Metalcore as a genre has been in a strange spot for a while now. For every band that follows the new trendy sound of the year, another gets lost to the call of formulaic generic slop that will get them played on Octane Radio. More and more new bands that pop up are all starting to sound the same, as if they’ve asked an AI to write them 10 tracks for a quick cash grab with no effort wasted and call it a day. That’s why it’s such a sigh of relief when a band like Foreign Hands enters the picture. They won’t be content with taking it easy on you; the very opening seconds of “Resetting the Senses” are played with such vigorous ferocity reminiscent of the late 90s and early 2000s, which nowadays is a much-needed breath of fresh air. They are here to get your heart pumping over the course of this 33-minute sonic assault, one that will leave you scrambling to press play again as soon as it’s over.

If there was one word to describe the sound of Foreign Hands, it would be nostalgic. Their love of bands such as Poison the Well and Hopesfall shine through strongly in their music no matter where you are in the tracklist. As easy as it is to point out who their influences are, it wouldn’t be fair to say they have no identity or talent of their own. The vicious high-pitched screams from frontman Tyler Norris cut through the music like a knife, pairing nicely with guitarist Jack Beaton’s singing throughout. Album highlight “Conditioned for a Head-On Collision” shows them trading off parts seamlessly, encapsulating how perfectly they complement each other. The dual guitar tandem of the aforementioned Jack as well as Gill Gonzalez also cannot be praised enough; their assortment of aggressive palm-muted chugs, riffs, and leads will have you headbanging at almost every second. Bassist Chuck Minix throws down tasteful bass thumping action on tracks “God Under Fingernails” and “Shapeless in the Dark”, the latter starting off with an eerie bass riff under haunting lead work that gets you in the mood to enjoy the explosively cathartic final half of the song. Drummer Tyler Washington rounds out the crew as he bangs, crashes, and fills his way through with expert precision. He is the perfect backbone for the band, lending what sounds like a veteran instinct that allows every other member around him to thrive as much as they can.

While the members themselves carry the weight of the record, it’s not without some help from some titans of the genre. Even though Olli Appleyard of Static Dress is still a relatively young member of the core scene, he’s been firmly cementing his place as one of the top names to keep your eyes on. He provides his powerful screams and singing to the previously mentioned highlight “Conditioned…”, elevating what was already a great song into an immaculate song with a grandiose final chorus. Penultimate track “Until the Sun Fades” features Matt Mixon, famous for his work with 7 Angels 7 Plagues as well as several guest vocal spots with Misery Signals, sounding just as great as he did over two decades ago. Everybody on this record sounds great, and a lot of it is thanks to producer Will Putney. Putney has become synonymous with the term “hit or miss” regarding his production jobs, and thankfully this one is a huge hit. He supplies them with much needed raw aggression, providing us with a beefy punchiness that shines most in the skull-crushing final minute of “Laceration Wings”.

What’s Left Unsaid is aptly named, almost as if you’re listening to what those bands from twenty years ago could’ve sounded like today. What Foreign Hands does here is pick up the torch that was dropped long ago, and carry it with passionate pride. They have worked tirelessly over the years by releasing EPs and singles, and touring constantly to tighten their sound. The work certainly paid off, as they’ve delivered an album worthy of praise and admiration. These guys deserve all the recognition they can receive, and they could help steer the ship of metalcore back in the right direction with bands such as Static Dress and SeeYouSpaceCowboy, contemporaries that also wear their influences on their sleeves while twisting their own identity with it. Foreign Hands deserves a place on the podium, and hopefully all of this hard work helps shove them to the very top of it.


user ratings (132)
3.6
great

Comments:Add a Comment 
SteakByrnes
June 25th 2024


30347 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Hey :] This album whips give it a spin much love

YoYoMancuso
Staff Reviewer
June 25th 2024


19258 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Well written review! I've given this one listen but I need to pay closer attention for my second

calmrose
June 25th 2024


6979 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

STEAK REVIEW LET'S FUCKING GO

mkmusic1995
Contributing Reviewer
June 25th 2024


2012 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

A rare Steak review, awesome shit! Record is hard as nails, definitely need to listen a few more times to appreciate some of the finer details.

SteakByrnes
June 25th 2024


30347 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Thanks pals :] ya I've been spinning this a LOT since it dropped, it might be my favorite release of the year so far

artificialbox
Contributing Reviewer
June 25th 2024


2500 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

yayyy manifestation works

gonna read this on my lunch break

SteakByrnes
June 25th 2024


30347 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

lmao when you said you wanted me to do it I already had the idea in my head, so figured may as well do it then ;]

JayEnder
June 25th 2024


20957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Insta pos. Great review friend :]



Album fuckin rips massively

Mort.
June 25th 2024


26041 Comments


posd hard, good review and sounds interesting

JayEnder
June 25th 2024


20957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

CONTENT TO BE NOTHING



NOOOO



DESIRES OR WISHES

Mort.
June 25th 2024


26041 Comments


like the shrieky harsh vox, not sure if i like the clean vox, not sure if the songwriting is special enough to distinguish them from all the other core revivalists but its certainly very far from bad and i will give a full listen in the future

thank u core bros that was mort.'s thoughts

JayEnder
June 25th 2024


20957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

GOD UNDER FINGERNAILS



DIRT OF HUMANITY

Uzumaki
June 25th 2024


4639 Comments


Babe wake up new Steak review just dropped!

Pikazilla
June 25th 2024


31120 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

core aoty probs

SteakByrnes
June 25th 2024


30347 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

@mort yea I was thinking of how you'd vibe with this, the cleans probably won't be your deal throughout but they aren't everywhere on this. Give God Under Fingernails or Laceration Wings a spin brother



But thank you pals for all the kind words

JayEnder
June 25th 2024


20957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

That ending breakdown in Laceration Wings is tuff

artificialbox
Contributing Reviewer
June 25th 2024


2500 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

Alright just sittin down for lunch now. Nice job Steak, I’m glad you touched on Putney’s production. I didn’t even know it was done by him, but I agree he nailed it on this one!



@mort I think my problem with the clean vox is that while he’s technically really good he doesn't have a whole lot of character to his voice and sounds pretty vanilla. not sure if that resonates with you as well? he sounds really great live tho.

JayEnder
June 25th 2024


20957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I could do without the cleans tbh. They're not bad but they don't really stand out as anything special.

onionbubs
June 25th 2024


21999 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

dope review brotha man glad to see you writing

Uzumaki
June 25th 2024


4639 Comments


@Pika big if true



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