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Nowadays, getting a new modern metalcore band from Australia is as novel or exciting as a new MCU show on Disney+, but damn it, they just know how to do it Down Under. Meet Alienist, a rising quintet from the coastal town of Wollongong, that has been making a louder noise since about 2020, signed to UNFD last year, and have just released their debut EP Love / Hate. And yes, to answer the obvious questions here, the release is worth it and deserves everyone's attention, the band will only get bigger and better, and UNFD and Australia have yet another future heavyweight up their sleeves.
Alienist are a five-piece consisting of Lachlan Forsberg (vocals), Damon Renes (vocals, guitar), Anthony Vella (guitar), Chris Olliffe (bass), Jake Ceely (drums), and quickly rising through the Aussie metalcore ranks, and hopefully beyond that soon. Since 2020 they have been making noise with a "modern flair and infectious design, wielding elasticated riffs, soaring melodics and ambient gloss offset against beast-mode breakdowns, caustic grooves and fiery sonic chasms". Enough said by UNFD here really, now all we need to do is put that killer EP on repeat and let their music speak for itself, for it has a lot to say.
Alienist appear to quote Wage War, I Prevail, Bring Me The Horizon, and Polaris as direct inspiration, and although you can easily get the connection, I am inclined to also mention a positive similarity with earlier In Hearts Wake, especially with regards to vocal delivery and that fine balance between soaring highs and brutal lows. Influences aside, the quintet have already crafted a sound that is uniquely theirs and only going to mature and evolve into something bigger and bolder. From the opener 'Godless' through the promo singles 'Prisoner of You' and 'Distorted Reflections' all the way to the new ragers 'Hypnotise' and 'Absent', there is no sign of weakness, hesitation or slowing down, and this is just the start.
Throughout the EP you get to hear bits of those good old scene-days grooves, dipped in the volatile pool of modern metal tropes, and seasoned with the typical Aussie metalcore spice palette. The final result here might be an acquired taste for those who seek only the freshest of contemporary ideas, or the opposite, prefer to dwell in the past and relive the golden age of the genre, but Alienist gravitate equally seamless towards the edges of both worlds. Past, present and future collide in a five-track EP that is as complete and meticulously arranged, as is exemplary of the endless potential of the local Aussie scene.
Listening to Love / Hate makes think simultaneously about why you fell in love with the genre at the first place but also why you keep following its current direction. The EP is packed with modern core bangers, each of the five tracks a solid reason to follow Alienist and a compelling argument as to why they would play a central role in the future of the genre that is clearly far from finished.
Alienist - 'Love / Hate' EP
Country: Australia
Released: 1 March 2024
Label: UNFD
Tracklisting:
1. 'Godless'
2. 'Distorted Reflections'
3. 'Absent'
4. 'Hypnotise'
5. 'Prisoner of You'
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