Visions – ‘Shake The Earth’ [Review]
It may be almost April, but with Visions’ new album wrapped up in my inbox, it feels like Christmas again.
Listening to Shake The Earth unpack itself is an absolute pleasure. It may be covered in scalpel-sharp spikes on the surface, but there’s plenty of substantive, tasty, bass-flavoured cake under the none-more-black icing and razor-edged tech-metal decorations. Modern metal bands often forget that there’s more to a mix than just a knob marked “TREBLE,” a fader marked “VOLUME,” and an onscreen icon labelled “COMPRESSION,” but Visions avoid that particular pitfall.
The probably-Home–Alone-inspired Wet Bandits opens up with super-syncopated guitars guaranteed to throw off all but the most sure-footed listeners before Visions’ blend of alt-metal quirkiness and tech-hardcore complexity really gets going. All kinds of bands with heavy fetishes come to mind when listening to Shake The Earth, from Alien Ant Farm and Lostprophets to the likes of SikTh, Aliases, Intervals, and Basick Records’ extensive and innovative back catalogue (which happens to include Visions’ debut album Home).
One thing’s for sure: Shake The Earth is definitely not normal.
As always on TMMP, though: Thank fuck for that. Normal is boring; getting into something spicy is far more fun. Shake The Earth is nothing if not spicy.
That said, there are plenty of familiar elements on display here. Second track Eurotrucker offers up a relatively standard modern hardcore intro, drums falling down a spiral staircase while pairing up stabs with the guitars and bass while vocal phrases begin on offbeats – but that effect lasts only for a few bars before Visions put the “mutation” into “permutation,” shoving anticipation aside with a cheeky bit of odd time. It’s the sort of section that rewards close listening; I could imagine some listeners briefly brushing it off as stock at first, then getting tripped up when trying to headbang along.
Such are the joys of tech-metal!
Visions have hit on a winning balance of playfulness, musical curiosity, and gut-wrenching catharsis. Make no mistake, Shake The Earth is a dark album – but there’s beauty in there too, as uncool as that word might be in some circles. Breaking Away’s intro guitars sparkle with cold light; Deadweight wins with a slinky Aristocrats/Intervals vibe; and These Days comes furnished with silky vocal note bends.
The real hidden surprise on this album – which also proves a major highlight – is Korma. According to a quick Google search, a korma is “a mildly spiced Indian curry dish of meat or fish marinaded in yogurt or curds,” but Korma (the song) doesn’t fuss about choosing an appetizer before introducing Shake The Earth’s hard-hitting vocal hook: “To think I’m not alone / Scares me more than you know”.
While listening to Korma, expect a hectic, emotional, no-holds-barred barrage that defines modern hardcore at its finest. But don’t skip forward to get to it, and don’t pause for breath when it’s over. Shake The Earth is an album that deserves to be listened to in its entirety, from start to Artemus Clyde’s all-pistons-firing home stretch. It’s fucking immense, and an unmistakable…I want to say “vision,” but my internal pun-police won’t let me…omen (that’ll do) of great things to come on May 30.
TMMP RATING: 93%
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Shake The Earth drops May 30; pre-order it on Bandcamp and visit Visions on Facebook and Twitter for updates.