Labels: Surviving Sounds
Review by: Thomas Strawbridge
Curious. Hidden Mothers are happy to describe themselves as screamo, but then add a sillier term blackwave to that. A quick trip through facebook friends and links (because these guys are good so checking for more) shows their peers are mostly in the hardest corners of the metal box. I suppose there’s plenty of crossover between scream and black metal in hideous vocals, dissonance, blastbeats, tremolo picking, rambling song structures, so ok.
Sometimes when you try to carve out a niche you end up somewhere that already exists; this is metallic screamo … maybe just arrived at down a different road. This is both sides of the Daitro / Sed Non Satiata split at once, or post-rocky latter day Suis La Lune but, you know, actually HEAVY in the heavy parts.
I’ve got a little gripe with the first song: it doesn’t feel quite cohesive, with a number of fade in/outs through the song. More like movements perhaps, but unfortunately the second ‘part’ is a bit tedious mosh for me. Still, strong start, great build up to finish, and I’ve still listened to it a bunch of times so small fry.
Track 2 ‘My Own Worth’ is a more straightforward crescendo, coming in just under 5 minutes and it is great. Great great great. And oh my! The last track is ripping up mid-period Envy through the Deafhaven lens … its galloping along, its epic and”¦yep, for a treat the trash compactor vibe is out for the end! But its less LLBNF and more end-of-Jane Doe which works so much better for me. I like this a lot. Good band, good record. Listen.