Band: Moments Of Being | |
Album: Part Of The Emerging Monster To Whom We Are Attached | |
Genre: Skramz / Post Hardcore | |
Country: USA | |
Release Date: 20th of December, 2020 | |
Released via Tomb Tree Tapes / Zegema Beach Records | |
Cover Artwork © W A Anderson |
Already with their strong Demo the American Skramz band Moments Of Being had played themselves onto my radar. Now a few days ago the debut album Part Of The Emerging Monster To Whom We Are Attached was released, which I listened to directly. The sound of the band from New Orleans strongly reminds of old Pg.99 or Majority Rule releases, but also shows influences of more recent bands like Portrayal of Guilt or Infant Island and thus manages to revive emotional grinding hardcore. Everyone who is currently sliding towards the New Year’s depression will find themselves in this long player and will feel understood. Just the right thing to musically deal with some kind of grief, despair and anger.
These are 14 songs that Moments of Being are dropping at us on Part Of The Emerging Monster To Whom We Are Attached and they try to pull out all the things that the Skramz genre has to offer. From whirlwind blastbeats to soulful passages to frustrated screams, everything is present that a record of this genre must have. In addition to the various tempo reductions, the amount of different riffing and melodies stands out positively, whereby the band is not too shy for dissonant impacts. During the blasting parts, the sound presses out of the speakers in a powerful and aggressive way, impresses with very strong vocals, which again and again wander between screaming and lethargic tones and in many places go directly into the marrow. Many times the atmosphere seems quite gloomy, whereas a melancholic setting prevails in the quieter sounds. The alternation between anger and sadness fits perfectly and makes a good impression. With partly clean guitar playing, some distinctive elements are also delivered, which can quickly settle in the memory and make anticipation for new runs.
What gives Part Of The Emerging Monster To Whom We Are Attached its special polish, however, is the bass playing, which lends the sound a certain depth and can make the remaining instruments even stronger as a result. The song structures are also well done for a debut album, but definitely have room to grow, even if you already get a lot of variety through the influences of Post Hardcore, 2000s Screamo and Blackened Grind. Nevertheless, the theme that actually runs quite well through some parts of the record gets lost from time to time and makes it sometimes difficult to follow the whole thing and also makes it quite difficult to get fully lost in it. The emotional direction, on the other hand, is kept high along the full length thanks to the sometimes rather aggressive and then again more soulful guitar playing and unfolds excellently via many elements. What I really dig is the production, which is not too smooth and brings just the right pinch of scratchiness to capture the old school sound well. With this, Moments Of Being manage to wonderfully transfer their setting to the listener without making it seem forced. If you let yourself in, the songs manage to move and shake you up inside.
So far Part Of The Emerging Monster To Whom We Are Attached has only been released as a very limited tape. You can find it via Tomb Tree Tapes or Zegema Beach Records. Whether other formats will follow is still open, but due to the thrilling sound it is not unlikely. To be able to keep up musically with current scene greats, this debut album still lacks a little bit, especially in some parts of the songwriting. However, it brings a wonderful Punk vibe to it, which can convey the emotionality even a bit more authentically and transfer the frustrated mood wonderfully to the listener. If you like Post Hardcore and old Screamo, you will definitely be able to connect with Moments Of Being and maybe even shed a little (joy) tear as soon as the album is over. Definitely a band in this genre, from which you can expect a lot in the future!
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