ARCHIVES
Decay – Self-Released
Planting their flag firmly on the metal map, and armed with an incendiary debut album, Decay, it’s obvious that ARCHIVES haven’t come to take prisoners. There’s a new band in town and, by adding hardcore fury to their brutal brand of metal, they demand your full attention. An air of urgency surrounds this five piece and the inherent groove that saturates their songs ensure you won’t forget them in a hurry. ARCHIVES are a quintet who deal in polar opposites; deathlike, guttural growls nestle next to clean, emotive singing and huge white spaces punctuate their dense sound. Eschewing guitar solos in favour of serious riffage creates a weighty sensation and, like an anchor tied to a drowning man, drags the listener down to delirious depths yet, in moments of existentialism (as on ‘Blueprints’) the vocals seem to emanate from another, ethereal dimension. However, heavy is what ARCHIVES do best and from bombastic opener ‘Eulogy’ to cataclysmic closer ‘Fountayne Road’ Decay is akin to going 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, each song lands some hefty blows and you’re left feeling punch drunk at its conclusion (but in the best way, of course).
Review by Peter Dennis