Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 28/10/2016
Label: Independent
It is rare to
hear heavy music that sounds genuinely original in 2016. Imagine Will Haven playing Meshuggah and you
get a strong approximation of the mathematical rage on display here.
“Meta ”
CD//DD track listing:
1. From The Dust Of This Planet
2. Secrets Within
3. Nonagon
4. Gratitude
5. Constant Sleep
6. The Oppressor
7. Black Blood
8. Sets
9. Cenotaph
10. Lights Out
11. Infinite Sun
2. Secrets Within
3. Nonagon
4. Gratitude
5. Constant Sleep
6. The Oppressor
7. Black Blood
8. Sets
9. Cenotaph
10. Lights Out
11. Infinite Sun
The Review:
When
listening to Car
Bomb’s new album, “Meta ”, it is often hard to comprehend that this music
has been played by human beings. The reality that this record was played by
four guys from Long Island seems less
plausible than the possibility it is the product of a group of psychotic malfunctioning
robots with time-distortion capabilities.
From the
crushing opening of “From The Dust Of
This Planet” to the parting shot of “Infinite
Sun”, “Meta ”
is a whirlwind onslaught of unpredictable machine gun chuggery, insane octopus
drumming and sharp detours into warped, melodic worlds. Imagine Will Haven
playing Meshuggah
and you get a strong approximation of the mathematical rage on display here.
Whilst
insanely complicated, Car Bomb manage to avoid sounding clinical.
Everything is played with an unhinged energy and intensity that adds an element
of chaos and human fallibility to their music. This separates them from bands
that place technique above all else and sound like a soulless guitar shop/drum
clinic performance.
“Gratitude” may be the surprise
highlight of the record and is the closest thing here to a traditional song,
albeit one smashed to pieces and roughly reassembled into a fractured
reflection of its former self. This track sees the band bring their melodic
side to the fore while still incorporating their trademark piledriver riffage.
Passages of intricate math-rock in the vein of Minus The Bear are interrupted
by outbursts of violent distortion before giving way to a sky-scraping chorus
reminiscent of Deftones
and Torche.
There is a disorienting woozy feel as tempos and pitches shift, like listening
to a record at an ever-shifting speed while it melts in the sun.
It is rare
to hear heavy music that sounds genuinely original in 2016. Although it feels
like there are some obvious influences on Car
Bomb’s sound, the way they bring all of the individual elements together in
their unique style makes “Meta ” sound like an alien transmission from another
dimension. Wherever this noise is coming from, I want to go there
right now.
