VRSTY – Cloud City
Release Date: 4th December 2020
Label: Spinefarm Records
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Genre: Metalcore, Pop Metal.
FFO: Normandie, Issues, The March Ahead, Siamese, Linkin Park.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
You’ll be familiar with the adage ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. In the music reviewing world, I will offer an alternative: “Don’t judge an album by its press pack’. Cloud City by VRSTY is described as “If Justin Timberlake fronted Killswitch Engage”. Yes, you read that right. Both fantastic artists in their own respect (Don’t pretend you don’t love Cry Me a River you fucking poser) but rarely mentioned in the same sentence. VRSTY are looking to bridge the canyon-wide gap between R&B and metal like Issues did not too long ago , and nu-metal did with rap and rock many moons ago. The result? As catchy yet strange as you’d probably imagine.
Massive opens the album with a clean, dark lead with a bouncy, crushing guitar riff overlaying it. Vocals provided by Joey Varela are, as described, a great balance between the freeform and controlled approach of contemporaries like Justin Timberlake & Craig David (What year is it again?) with hints of Of Mice & Men type breakdowns and harsh vocals. The heavy and hook-driven choruses of modern metalcore are at their best here, layered with intelligent vocal melodies that suck you in.
Dig is another ultra-catchy and vocally impressive but more reserved track. The chorus hits hard with Joey playfully harmonising with himself, and in the remix of Wilt he partners up with Gina Fritz, adding a beautiful new voice into the mix to create a mellower and emotionally stronger alternative take on the track.
VRSTY feels very much like a way for Joey Varela to showcase his undeniable talent, without any real space for the rest of the band to demonstrate what they’re capable of. The instrumentation helps to push the mood & energy forward, but never excels outside of the support role they have been relegated to. The heavy, modern metal tones during Shameless and the breakdown of Cloud City gives them room to show some grit; in the same way Paramore was in a way just a springboard for Hayley Williams to jump to higher places, the album feels like the vocals are leading the show by a considerable margin.
The double-edged sword of such a vocally driven album is the lyrics are centre stage. Dig in particular has some moments that make me want to retract into myself like a turtle into its shell to avoid the cringe. “I know she’s looking through my Instagram, I watch her stories and I start to laugh” hurts to hear after a few times. Perhaps I’m too old for this game; who doesn’t have an Instagram these days, but does it belong in what is essentially a metalcore love song? Cue the ‘OK Boomer’ comments – I probably deserve it. The themes of teen angst and relationship problems are prevalent in this scene, and are fine when presented with style and finesse but this just feels a tad too juvenile.
The album is very much in line with the style Issues have cultivated without much competition, and although I don’t think VRSTY are in the same league as bands like Issues and Normandie, they aren’t a bad band. The production is great, which is what you come to expect from a band taking influence from R&B and modern metal. Linkin Park are considered by many (myself included) to have been the catalyst that brought two contrasting genres together in such a unique way that somehow earned mainstream appeal, but with Hybrid Theory and Meteora, there was a real sense of song-writing maturity behind the angst. Cloud City lacks the sophistication that it needs to reach the potential it has.
Cloud City is a good introduction to VRSTY, but will hopefully just be a stepping stone onto better things you can sense growing at their core.
(3 / 5)
