Weekly Update #36 – January 12, 2025

FEATURED ALBUM
Knocked Loose // A Tear In The Fabric Of Life
Released: October 13, 2021

‘A Tear In The Fabric of Life’ is one of the best metalcore EPs of all time. It even gives the Zombie EP from The Devil Wears Prada a run for its money. I don’t know what third place would be, but it is very, very far behind these two.

This EP proved that Knocked Loose could be more than the “arf arf” band. As a concept EP, there was a lot to rally around, and the 20 minute animated music video is one of the coolest accompanying pieces of art that I’ve ever seen.

The artistic vision was stunning, especially from a band who, up until that point, did not seem to have it in their repertoire. Their vision resonated with fans so strongly that the horror elements introduced in this EP continued to stick around through the ‘Upon Loss’ singles and ‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To.’ But as great as those subsequent releases have been, I don’t think Knocked Loose will ever top this EP.

It’s such a succinct release. Everything fits perfectly. It’s driven by a compelling story, but it doesn’t feel scripted. It maintains the band’s edge, incorporating more chaos than normal, while also introducing melodies and progressive elements less typical for the band. The dark, swirling atmosphere is balanced by wonder and awe as powerful forces are revealed.

I was especially surprised by this EP because I didn’t connect with ‘A Different Shade of Blue’ the way I hoped to after I spent so much time listening to ‘Laugh Tracks.’ I didn’t initially like Bryan’s higher pitched screams, and I missed how easy it was to understand the lyrics. Obviously, Bryan has continued down that path, especially on their most recent album, and it suits their growth well. But when Knocked Loose only had two albums, it was hard to make sense of the direction they were going. Looking back now, it’s clear how ‘A Different Shade of Blue’ fits into Knocked Loose’s discography, and that it was a necessary step as they began to explore a more serious sound. 

I say all of that because it’s important to understand that although people have come to expect great things from Knocked Loose, it hasn’t always been that way. They were well known in 2021, but people weren’t expecting them to create one of the best examples of heavy music as an art form. Sure, it’s fun to joke that heavy music is caveman, unga bunga music, but it can be more than that. And the arf arf boys have done it better than any metalcore band has in the last five years.

Playlist of New Songs

Quick playlist highlights:

– So stoked for the new Great American Ghost album on January 31. Going to be a very release this early in the year.

– Memphis May Fire is testing the limits of music marketing. Their new album comes out on March 28 and they’ve already released seven singles. The album only has ten songs on it! If they release a single in February and another one in March, the album will only have one song that hasn’t been heard before. I hate this trend.

– I love The Unguided, but I don’t expect other people to have such strong feelings for them. The band consists of the core members from Sonic Syndicate before they became a radio rock band. The vocalist has some of my favorite screams in the business. New album out March 7.

– Unprocessed made some pretty big waves with their 2023 album. They have a nice combination of progressive metalcore and this song especially shows off their clean singing abilities. The bass line is a little overused, but it is catchy.

– Crown Magnetar is also releasing an EP on March 7. These guys have been pumping out music like crazy – they have released an album or an EP every single year since 2021. I’ll have to go back and listen to their stuff again, but I’m getting “colossal deathcore” vibes (the term I use to describe bands like Distant) and I’m really liking it.

– These Silverstein singles have been a blast. I’ve never really considered these guys a favorite but this could be their year…

– The Halo Effect just released their new album. This is melodic death metal at its finest. The band is made up of five previous members of In Flames (one of the big three bands that pioneered melodic death metal). The Halo Effect is basically the original In Flames. I mean, four of the five members spent 15-20 years EACH playing for In Flames. And the fifth member is Mikael Stanne, the original vocalist of In Flames (although he’s better known as the vocalist of Dark Tranquility).

– Stick To Your Guns also released a new album. I actually went through their whole discography and it was cool to see how they’ve evolved over the years. I miss some of the more prominent hardcore elements of their early years, but they’ve turned into a great gateway band for people that want a taste of hardcore mixed with decent choruses.

– This is definitely my favorite single from Bleeding Through so far. Speaking of going through entire discographies, I should do Bleeding Through this week. 22 years of music is a lot to go through, but they probably have some deep cuts worth revisiting.

Psycho-Frame Line Up Change

There isn’t much drama this early in the year, but I finally posted last year’s review of Psycho-Frame on Instagram. The next day, they announced that they are parting ways with one of their vocalists (Jonathan Whittle) because he isn’t available to tour full time. No worries though, a couple of the Psycho-Frame members created another side project called Warspawn so they can keep making music with Whittle. Warspawn teased some of its new music and it sounds great.

Psycho-Frame hasn’t announced Whittle’s replacement, but I’m expecting someone very capable.

I wish these guys the best. They never expected to get this big – they were basically picking up the pieces after Vatican fell apart in an effort to continue making music. After a couple short years, they’ve become such an in-demand band that they have big opportunities to go tour and have to do what they can to make it work.

It just seems like a testament to their love for the game. They started a new band from scratch and created a unique sound when every other deathcore band was chasing Lorna Shore’s style. That authenticity and dedication is what led to this success, and it seems like this is only the beginning.

Here’s a Psycho-Frame song if you aren’t familiar with them.