Vein.fm – The World Is Going To Ruin You
Release Date: 4th March 2022
Label: Closed Casket Activities
Bandcamp
Genre: Metalcore, Hardcore, Punk, Nu-Metal.
FFO: Knocked Loose, MouthBreather, 156/Silence.
Review By: Mike Leighton
Fear. Anger. Sadness. Irritation. Happiness. Elation. All human emotions, and all expressed on their newest album. Massachusetts 4-piece and hardcore punk/metalcore creators, Vein.fm, have poured everything they have into birthing something truly worth listening to. The World Is Going To Ruin You, tells the story of the internal struggle we as human beings go through on a day-to-day basis, and within our own minds. It’s an extremely raw, extremely powerful musical piece, and that made it all the more exciting to listen to. I think while the recent Covid-19 pandemic had everyone in the world on edge, Vein.fm were able to channel some of that energy into their new album, The World Is Going To Ruin You [if you let it]. Vein.fm is Anthony DiDio on vocals, guitarist Jeremy Martin, bassist Jon Lhaubouet, drummer Matt Wood, and lastly, Benno Levine on turntables/electronics. The World Is Going To Ruin You was produced by Will Putney of Fit For An Autopsy, and will be put out on Closed Casket Activities.
You know the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” well the artwork for Vein.fm’s newest album is worth at least ten thousand. Right off the bat, you see someone screaming underneath the upper part of a house. Metaphorically, this could represent someone’s mind, and how you don’t always know what is going on inside them. Going along with this analogy, one might think that the individual represented is struggling both at home and/or inside their mind, as many of us were during lockdown. Another very pertinent saying comes to mind, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Even if someone is putting on a brave face, we never know what they may be struggling with inside, both their own mind or at home. Vein.fm, I think, have captured that feeling on this album.
The internal, and external struggle of the human condition.
Just under 33 minutes, The World Is Going to Ruin You, Vein.fm’s sophomore effort after their highly rated first album, Errorzone, comes in heavy, raw, and in your face. There is no letting up, except for a few instances where the listener can breathe before jumping back in head first. These brief moments of relief showcase very some very refreshing and warranted clean singing that allows the audience to digest what they have heard thus far. It can also potentially be interpreted as those moments of quiet we all have within our own minds before our thoughts start racing again.
Welcome Home starts with a female voice saying the words, “I can’t sleep well” alongside some awesome effects, and a beautiful, pounding drumbeat. The tone has been set for this album on Welcome Home. Once the guitars come in, they give off a very grungy, distorted downtempo beat. The song ends with a crescendo of all the various sounds and instruments coming together, almost in a kind of composed chaos. Again, Vein.fm have set the tone for what I assume to be a monster of an album. The Killing Womb is the first single released by Vein.fm. I really love the syncopation between the drums, the guitars, and the bell they use; really giving the track a melodic, almost off beat tone, while, at the same time, maintaining a refreshing level of melody. The vocals from DiDio on this track just seep frustration, and raw emotion so far. Versus Wyoming, just sounds like pure aggression. This track is fast and quick, ending just as fast as it began.
Inside Design is short, quick, and heavy. This track showcases everything we have seen so far from Vein.fm, while keeping it all tight and compact. I love the guitar groove at the end alongside the deep, guttural vocal delivery from DiDio. This track, as well as most of the album at certain times, reminded me of metalcore band, Knocked Loose. The turntable scratch near the end was a nice, almost nostalgic touch; very reminiscent 1990s and 2000s heavier nu-metal. Wavery had a very interesting, sombre flow. It began very ominous sounding, and led into DiDio’s slow, hypnotic vocals (sounding like a metronome at times). The monotony is broken with a refreshing, almost uplifting chorus, before returning to a similar structure as the first verse and chorus had. This routine is broken later when the listener is presented with a very dark, heavy, almost evil vocal delivery on top of an absolutely sick, downtuned, punchy guitar riff. Followed by what I can only describe as an interlude that gets slower and slower, Wavery comes to an end almost as ominously as it began.
Funeral Sound is a masterpiece with beautiful composition, vocals, and instrumental tracks all combined into one. It’s almost like a “rock opera” in the sense that it has several, almost seemingly different parts all fused together into a whole piece. But from the very start, it felt as if those different parts were meant to be together. Easily the most standout track for me, alongside Wavery and Inside Design. It almost feels like the light at the end of the tunnel, a nightmare that has finally subsided, or the quiet mind after a panic attack. This album summed up is beautiful chaos in audible form. It is hard to describe, but at the same time, it isn’t. It can be perceived as a representation of the state of the world right now, but for me, personally, it was a look inside my mind, and possibly many others, during the constant state of uncertainty amidst this global pandemic. Vein.fm as well as their sophomore effort, The World Is Going To Ruin You, have taken those feelings of emotional unrest and captured them in a bottle. A bottle that at any moment could explode with the voices of thousands. From the instruments to the extremely raw, and emotional vocal delivery from DiDio, it is very apparent Vein.fm knew what they wanted to express on this album, and in my opinion, they did it flawlessly.
(4.5 / 5)
