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Album Reviews : Currents – The Place I Feel Safest

By on June 25, 2017

Two of the bigger sub-genres within heavy music right now are melodic metalcore and the djent movement. Bands that combine the two are onto winners.

Especially when a band does it as well as this Connecticut-based five piece. They juxtapose the two related but distinct styles to such a fine point that fans of either or both almost can’t fail to find something to like here. There is more than enough complexity to keep your djent loving prog-head happy (see Another Life) and the breakdowns and the moments of soaring melody amid the musical carnage should delight your garden variety metalcore fan (check out Withered).

On top of that, and indeed most importantly, the songcraft here is strong, the musicianship is top shelf and the production is razor-sharp. There is just enough melody breaking up the savage, cutting riffs, slamming drums and throat-ripping vocals to ensure the songs are super-catchy as well as uber-aggressive.

And while we’re talking about aggression, another element that deserves mention here is the sense of pure anger that this band injects into the sound. It is palpable. In fact, the longer it goes, the more and more pissed-off it seems to get, and with it the overall intensity levels rise. Few of these types of bands conjure this amount of blood-vessel bursting angst.

Then Shattered closes things out in expansive, grandiose style.

This is a ridiculously strong album with broad appeal that should float the boats of ‘core and djent fans worldwide.

Band: Currents
Album: The Place I Feel Safest
Year: 2017
Genre: djent/metalcore
Label:  Sharptone Records
Origin: United States

About

Rod Whitfield is a Melbourne-based writer and retired musician who has been writing about music since 1995. He has worked for Team Rock, Beat Magazine, themusic.com.au, Heavy Mag, Mixdown, The Metal Forge, Metal Obsession and many others. He has written and published his memoirs of his life and times in the music biz, and also writes books, screenplays, short stories, blogs and more.