Emmure — Hindsight (6/26/20)
I caught onto this American metal/death-core band in 2011 when they were part of the opening line-up for Asking Alexandria’s Reckless and Relentless Tour with Chiodos, Miss May I, Evergreen Terrace, and Lower Than Atlantis. It was one hell of a show.
That was just after they had released Speaker Of The Dead which became my first album with the band. It was pretty clear that this stuff was a bit too hardcore for my tastes but I was definitely intrigued by the sheer brutality of the music.
Frontman and sole founding member Frankie Palmeri also impressed with his rap-style singing blended in with his vicious screams. And the album did manage to give me some favourites in the metal genre, notably “Solar Flare Homicide” and “4 Poisons 3 Words.”
They released Slave to the Game a year later and for whatever reason, I never got around to it. I caught back onto them with 2014’s Eternal Enemies. The album as a whole didn’t leave much of a mark but it did give me “We Were Just Kids.” The emotional closing track of the album is easily the greatest thing I’ve heard from Emmure and I don’t expect them to ever top it.
2017’s Look at Yourself made for another pulverizing listen but I haven’t touched any of the songs since. There’s not much room in my life for this type of hardcore music. It’s far from what I’m looking for when I just want to enjoy some of my favourites and it doesn’t even have a place on my workout playlist; I don’t find much motivational energy in the pummeling breakdowns.
That being said, here I am checking out their latest offering. Opener “(F)inally (U)nderstanding (N)othing” is a riot. It’s the “we’re back” anthem of the album and they get right into it with an onslaught of nu-metal breakdowns.
Palmeri has been known to write pretty harsh songs, many of which are fueled by anger and hate. “Trash Folder” seems to fit in that category, Palmeri viciously declaring his hate for poser bands. “Action 52” is another furious song that attacks herd mentality. Closing track “Uncontrollable Descent” is also pretty blunt in its delivery. Palmeri seems to be trying to burst this bubble of thought that life is something special, taking on the role of reality, saying, “You will rue the day that you’re face to face with me.”
While the hate is real on this album, most of it seems to be directed inward. Lead single “Pigs Ear” builds off of a clip from a CNN interview about the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting in 2012. The self-destructive lyrics to follow have Palmeri writing from the perspective of the shooter, seeming very aware of the path he’s on.
“Gypsy Disco” is incredibly self-tormenting. I’m not sure how literally to take these lyrics because they are just so distraught. Palmeri is basically begging for death and it’s pretty discomforting to hear.
I always cared about the music but I just can’t see
A fucking future in this life I chose
Those streams are fucking worthless, just an ego facade
And so I sit and think about how all the shit went wrong in my life
I lament every choice, every breath
Every step that I took into a legacy of fucking regret
You get more suicidal ideation on the crushing “Informal Butterflies.” The 2-minute track rattles the skull with its unforgiving breakdown.
Bullet in my temple will fix all my problems, cure my illness
You are all so perfect
I wish I was like you but I’m worthless
There’s also the penultimate 80-second “Bastard Ritual.” Palmeri delivers his throat-tearing screams, singing about how he’s wasted his life, that he should slowly die in a ditch, and that no one will care.
There’s a bit of that self-destructive tone to “Persona Non Grata” but Palmeri seems to embrace the “bad boy” reputation he’s made for himself with one of the most accessible hooks.
“Thunder Mouth” is also decently accessible with a chorus that has Palmeri honing into his Korn influence with these guttural screams and those incoherent growls that Jonathan Davis has been known for.
“I’ve Scene God” holds some of my favourite screams. He’s great with the lows and the highs and he switches between the two deliveries for a nice effect. The middle of the song has him using some vocal mod and name-dropping several bands in the scene like Stray From The Path, Stick To Your Guns, Attila, and Knocked Loose.
The two longest songs of the album go back-to-back with “Pan’s Dream” and “203.” “Pan’s Dream” feels like one of the more expansive songs with muddy guitar that really oozes through the speakers. It includes a sample from this video of a kid struggling to complete a sentence about dreams which went viral years ago (I never saw it).
“203” separates itself from the rest with a more subdued atmosphere that builds and falls throughout. It’s a number Palmeri apparently sees everywhere and he questions if it’s associated to a higher power. Speculation online has mentioned how 203 is an area code in Connecticut, the state the band formed in. 203 is also the police code for “mayhem.”
So, there you have it. Another tormenting group of tracks from Emmure. As I mentioned, there’s not much room in my life for this type of vicious music but it’s always exciting to see what kind of brutal metalcore Palmeri and co. will bring to the table.
