Sleep Waker – Alias
Release Date: 23rd July 2021
Label: UNFD
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Metalcore
FFO: Hollow Front, Northlane, Darknet, Lotus Eater, 生 Conform 死, Wage War, Veil Of Maya.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
Surely, we’ve all seen an episode of some procedural crime drama (Criminal Minds, CSI etc) where a bad guy in a black trench coat is ‘hacking the mainframe’? Perhaps he re-routed an array node to DDoS the server packets to short-circuit the firewall? I know that makes no sense – I just made that up by sticking some nerd words together; don’t poke too many holes in it. Before now though, I’d never considered what music the hacker in question would’ve been listening to. Introducing Alias by Sleep Waker. It’s their third album and first under their new label UNFD, and it packs a digital punch. If you had to transcribe a computer virus using music, Alias is the answer, and holy shit – you’ll be lucky to get infected.
Opening track Alias wastes little time before battering you in the teeth with chunky guitars and audible, clanky bass. The melody is simple but matches the thematic tone well, with a ‘future-tech’ style being created by the electronic elements embellishing the track.
110 Minutes turns the dial up to 11. With interesting bends, riffs & samples littered throughout, it was a solid choice for one of the pre-release singles. Serenity also uses these elements with melodic clean singing placed in to add a welcomed touch of beauty in-between the audio violence.
Vocalist Hunter Courtright gives it everything throughout. There is a rawness, almost a pain, in Strangers that translates really well with the rough, staccato stylings of the nu-metal electronics and low, heavy guitars.
The 10 tracks only cover 32 minutes, and although it isn’t a long time for a full-length album, every listen flies by. The tight and succinct nature of the songs doesn’t allow for filler or lengthy, drawn out sections so the pace never really drops. Cold Moon takes its time to draw back the energy, acting as a mini palette cleanser before Melatonin puts your testicles in the blender with its nasty grooves.
UNFD are on such a winning streak as of late, and Alias is no exception. Filled with chaotic riffs and bonkers effects simultaneously feeling modern and like a throwback to early 2000s nu metal, it’s an essential listen for anyone who is looking to see the new underbelly of metalcore developing with the likes of Sleep Waker, 生 Conform 死 & Darknet. It’s Y2K in audio form, and if the end of the world sounded like this, you’d probably welcome in the apocalypse.
(4.5 / 5)
