Sunday 1 January 2017

Arriver - Emeritus


Tracklist:-

1. Liquidators
2. The Demon Core
3. True Bypass
4. URSa
5. Emeritus

The first day 2017 has caught up with me way too quickly and has focused my mind somewhat. I'm not setting any resolutions this year but I am going to try and listen to more music in my spare time, as well as write more varied posts on here. I have something new on the way next week, but for now I'm just going to try and get the year off to a good start review-wise starting with the latest full-length from Chicago's Arriver. It's their third album in a career that so far has spanned a decade. For all intents and purposes, Arriver's musical palette is broad and progressive. "Emeritus" was self-released in December 2016.

“Emeritus” begins with Liquidators, which contains a mix of gargled death/black metal vocals and progressive instrumentation. It sets out a scene that’s hard to pin down. Arriver doesn’t like their sound to be pigeonholed to one genre so I’ll try my best not to mention anymore. I’ll just refer to it as heavy because that’s what it is. Rhythmically it’s off-kilter and technical. The Demon Core grinds and thrashes through eight-minutes with a mix of both the old and new. The metallic guitar touches and melodies are what sets it apart for me. The further you get into the song, the more layers and textures it reveals; like the quiet clean vocals nestling in the mix. Those clean vocals are more prominent during True Bypass and bring to mind those employed by bands like Deftones and Anne, at least in a spacey kind of way. The rest of the song is more of that same with something for everyone (as cliched as that might sound). It’s not just metal that’s present on “Emeritus”, as URSa contains a core of punk riffs and noise-rock weirdness. I eluded to the fact that there’s a lot going on in Arriver’s music earlier. This song proves the point and throws yet more variation into the mix. The title-track closes the record and is a musical journey in itself. The extreme-side of their sound comes back around here, just in case you were getting too comfortable. It features bucket loads of incredible musicianship and is testament to the vision and “we’ll write our own blueprint” attitude of the band. The same can be said for the rest of the record as well. This review might seem a little short and there are more things I could have said in it, but sometime it’s better just to sit back and take in what you’re actually hearing. This is one of those times and Arriver is one of those bands. “Emeritus” might not instantly grab some of you, but after a few spins all will become clear. Brilliant.

You can stream "Emeritus" and purchase it digitally, on vinyl or both below:-



Arriver Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/arriverchicago

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