Mothshade is an American band offering a unique approach with their new album, a mixing of genre’s from metal to electronic, to alternative, to rock, to everything inbetween, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what they were going for here.
Mothshade themselves describe it as “an independent music project blending elements of industrial, electronic, cinematic, and rock music.”
They’ve taken influence from the likes of Nine Inch Nails to Massive Attack, from Tool to Hans Zimmer – A mixed bag that really offers a bit of everything on the heavier side of the music spectrum.
The first track of the album is “Broken” – offering soft grungy female vocals, a heavy backing track and electronic sound effects that send shivers through you, it is certainly different to anything I’ve ever experienced, but that’s not a criticism.
This is usually heavier than I would listen to, but one thing I did pick up on in the first track was the ability to dip in and out of different elements, keeping me interested, but also keeping the levels consistent, my favourite thing about “Broken” was the female vocals, the softness really broke up the backing track and tied it together beautifully.
The second track on the album is “Machine” – starting off with that familiar radio-like static special effect, with the same vocalist from “Broken” coming in with whispering vocals, this shouldn’t work but it does, this goes on for about forty seconds before the vocals really kick in.
The backing track continues in it’s form and if I’m being 100% honest, there is too much going on and it overpowers the vocals, it does however, go back to the whispering-like vocalist, this works so much better – so I think I would have enjoyed it more had this been the case all the way through – that’s not to say it isn’t a good track, it just had too many elements packed in it for me personally.
The next track is “Deep In It” – now this has a bass twang to open with I can get with, the opening style was much more me, very indie-electronica (if that is even a thing? it is now ok) – It matches up with the vocals really well and gives that power behind it without being overpowering – even when the guitar kicks in to really build it up – it just climbs and climbs higher, teasing this big chorus – but the guitar solo is long and addictive, and it drifts back into the vocals well, teasing little bits of vocals before bringing you back to earth.
It is a rollercoaster of tones, up and down, up and down continuously, but that only kept me interested – soon as I was settled, it switched it up again – and it progressively got heavier – it is a very well-produced track and I felt it was building further foundations for more.
My only criticism of this one is that it maybe went on a bit too long for me and the ending was a little bit abrupt, but otherwise, it was a fantastic track.
The next one on the tracklist was “Dead and Dried” – it had quite and eerie feel to it to begin with, think of them sci-fi futuristic backing tracks you see on modern films, like a showdown was about to happen, but that said, this track could be perfect for that.
The vocals matched up with this incredibly well, it was that mix of sultry soft-spoken with whispers again – which worked really well with one another.
I personally wasn’t keen on the guitar strums that came in with it, I felt like that took something away and it wasn’t necessary, the playing wasn’t bad, it just felt a bit misplaced – but otherwise, the whole track kept that consistent “on-your-toes” feeling like something bad-ass was going to happen, and I was here for it.
I feel like besides the guitar, this is one of the more chilled-out tracks of the album – especially towards the end of it, and I particularly liked this style with the vocals.
It was also a little bit too long for me, it gets heavier again as it goes on, but to me the track would have worked with or without it, that’s just my personal opinion.
“Effigy” is next on the list, it’s similar to “Deep In It” and “Machine” from a heaviness point of view, but the song has a whole has a whole different feel, it’s more electronic and offers further value to Mothshade’s expanding genre portfolio – this is probably my favourite from the spec of it’s not too in your face with sound effects, it is literally about the music, but it is still blends incredibly well together, it’s a good length for the style of song too.
Following on from that is “Collapse” – now this is different to the rest so far, it is literally instrumental, so there’s not an awful lot I can say on it, it’s catchy, one of the shorter tracks of the album, but that’s all I can really say on it, it breaks the album up nicely.
“Empire” follows up after, which is a similar vibe to “Collapse”, with a couple of them whisper-like vocals creeping in slightly, again, it’s mainly instrumental, so there’s not an awful lot I can say on it, but I do prefer this from “Collapse” – I was vibing with the consistent lazer-like sound.
“Adrift” is next and we’re back into more vocalist-type songs, which I’m honestly pleased about, as I think more instrumental one after the year would have got a bid tedious.
The backing again for me does overpower the vocals a bit, the levelling could do with a touch, but that said it is a very well-produced track, by this point of the album, you can tell Mothshade have settled into their style here, which is nice to hear.
Getting towards the end now, “Crown” follows, and this is a bit of a mashup of what we’ve heard so far – the beginning is very instrumental, special effects, moody twangs, then it pangs in with this eerie voice, eventually using that to it’s full advantage, whilst it was a slow start, it really slips into it’s being, making it one of the best on the album in my opinion.
Still a bit on the longer side for me, but that is just my personal preference, it still works as a track.
The penultimate track of the album, “Within” offers something a little bit different in the beginning, it’s softer, which really works for them as they still manage to highlight some of the elements they’ve maintained throughout the rest of the album, it’s eerie, passionate and euphoric, this style is probably my favourite.
Whilst you can’t really tell what the lyrics are, it doesn’t really matter, it’s all part of it’s charm – perfectly crafted.
The final track of the album is the title track “Liminal” – the beginning is much softer, adding elements of piano, which surprised me as it’s not something I had really picked up on throughout the rest of the album, but this soft demure that it’s projecting slows it right down, which is possibly the best way to end the album, it is more instrumental again, but this isn’t a bad thing for the end I think, kind of brings you back down to earth in a way and brings you back to reality, softly.
Overall, this was an interesting listen, it’s a lot to digest and unpack, but for those who enjoy a mix of electronic metal rock, this could scratch the itch, it was quite intense at the beginning, but once you ease into it and get into a rhythm, it offers a unique listening experience that could be just what you’re looking for.
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