genres: metalcore
They just don’t miss! Foxblood is easily one of the best underground metalcore bands working right now, and as much as I’d love for them to finally get the recognition they deserve (and hopefully with their TWO announced future EPs that recognition will come), it’s been incredibly fun to watch them experiment with few expectations holding them back. “F(r)iends” is the final of the four tracks released between the end of the Grief & Mercy Sleep project and the beginning of their upcoming EP cycles. And it might be their best track to date. While each of the previous three singles was top notch, none of them quite reached the defiant energy of G&MS or the epic-ness of The Devil, The Dark & The Rain. “F(r)iends” more than does. The angry poeticism that defines their lyrical approach is in full swing, while the music strikes a perfect balance between the dark metalcore of their earlier work with the more experimental tones of recent releases. There’s incredible care payed to the guitar tones throughout, shifting between chunky downtuned chugs and more cleanly distorted riffs. They also continue the welcome trend in the singles of incorporating solos (this time guitar alone), but it’s the vocals that really stand out here. Vocalist Chris has one of the more unique harsh vocal styles, and the range is one full display here, shifting from tonally shouted spoken word that almost takes on a rap cadence to some of the more impressive screams and growls in the band’s catalogue. And although the band’s clean vocals have always been more than adequate, they truly shine in the few places they are deployed here. All in all, you won’t want to miss what could be one of the best metalcore tracks of the year.
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