Its time! Ithaca have returned to remind us that they are one of the most important bands in the UK hardcore/metal scene right now and they have come to break free of the restraints that this tiny doomed, backwards thinking island holds and take over the world. With a beautiful mix of influences, ranging from savage hardcore, technical mathcore, straight ahead metal, dreamy soundscapes they even throw in some pop influences for good measure, this album right here is the sound of a band who know they are destined for massive things and that their time is now.
It all kicks off with In The Way which has a groove infested riff that jostles alongside a jagged and jarring riff and leads you into the first chorus that sees the vocals take you to another place entirely, it’s a beautiful start and it just keeps the same relentless pace and mixes both heavy and melodic to amazing effect before fading out into a dreamy end sequence which catches you off guard as the start of next song, The Future Says Thank You absolutely smashes you against the ground and commences to keep you pinned down and batter you for the next 3 minutes with total disdain and disregard to how you may feel about this.
Then we get to my personal favourite track the punishing title track They Fear Us, which undoubtedly features one of the biggest choruses you are ever likely to hear and the here the clean vocals of Djamila Boden Azzouz, are an absolute delight and are perfect for massive audiences to be signing them right back to her, which mark my words will be happening very soon! The breakdown in this song is one on the most violent and heavy things ever to be recorded and will take your breath away and it includes the most vicious call to arms that will make you want to stand up and destroy everything within a 5-mile radius.
Following on from that isn’t an easy task but Camera Eats First stand up to the task well, with Sam Chetan-Welsh & Will Sweet almost assaulting us with a barrage of chugging riffs battling against Djamila’s enraged lyrics all kept in check by the Dom Moss/James Lewis rhythm section in a perfect fashion, as the longest song on the album you may expect it to offer you some respite from the brutality, wrong! It just keeps on going and gets heavier and heavier and when the pace does slow down the music is just so huge it’s equally as heavy as the heaviest parts! To be clear THIS IS HEAVY!
Cremation Party is probably the most straightforward hardcore song on offer here and that is not a slight in anyway, it’s exactly how you want a 2-minute hardcore song to sound, its fast, heavy and of course there is no let up and it leads into another full steam ahead monster in Number Five, this is a great mid-section to the album and the line, Why would I stab you in the back when you have so many faces to choose from? is hands down one of the best I have heard this year which leads into a slow burn riff that then explodes into a murderous end beatdown.
Perfect. We then enter the closing phase and are treated to the pleasure of Fluorescent which highlights that it doesn’t all have to be total heads down brutality to make you pay attention, it starts off with an uplifting dream like prog riff that is holding onto and complimenting the light and airy verses that take hold of you and almost put you at ease until a crushing mid-section drops in for a few bars the and adds in grooves displayed earlier which then mixes with the prog riff and floaty vocals and leads you out of another song with a soft touch which is just stunning!
The prog like dream sequence then starts You Should Have Gone Back and for couple of minutes it is just a pure unadulterated musical soundscape of bliss abruptly interrupted by a jigsaw riff with piercing drums and heart bursting screams which before you know it is back into the previously mentioned soundscape and yet another massive chorus to close this out, I cannot emphasise how much this song takes any listener on a journey from start to finish it’s a truly beautiful song, which is equally as relevant on closing track Hold, Be Held which sound like a big bold, unashamed 80’s style ballad with a modern twist and it grabs at your heart strings and keeps hold of them for the entirety of its time you are blessed to spend time with it.
As you may have guessed I like this album and I like it a lot! I know its July, but this is already up there as an album of the year contender, from the very start to the very last dying ember of this album Ithaca do not put one foot wrong and the journey they take you on is breath-taking, cathartic, upsetting, emotional, angry but most of all rewarding. Make no mistake Ithaca are going to the very top of this game and the quicker everybody gets on board with that the better. This album really is a truly remarkable piece of work and its utterly flawless in every way. 10/10
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