End You – Aimless Dread
Release Date: 21st May 2021
Label: Pax Aeternum
Bandcamp
Genre: Hardcore, Punk, Noise.
FFO: Deadguy, Botch, Converge.
Review By: Graeme Humphrey
Aimless Dread is the debut solo album from ex-The Catalyst vocalist Eric Smith, and it just might sum up how we all feel at this exact moment in 2021: it’s beyond angry, sometimes confusing and leaves you feeling completely worn-out and cast aside. But in the best possible way of course! Leaning on the influence of metalcore frontrunners Deadguy and Botch, and borrowing from some of the more chaotic notes of Converge, End You has produced an album that is very much worthy of your time and attention.
Opening things up with the one-two punch of SLPWLKR and Old Haunt you know exactly what you’re getting into as jarring feedback gives way to a massive groove that doesn’t let up at any point. There’s a real rage here that is reminiscent of a more metallic Amen and it doesn’t feel in any way forced or put on. Smith’s vocals are able to shift from low singing to absolutely throat-shredding screams and the lo-fi but modern sound of the album as a whole really helps to build an atmosphere of unease. This likely won’t be the heaviest album you’ll hear all year long, but it just might be the most pissed-off.
That’s not to say that the album is one-dimensional, though. Instrumental track Equinox has a sort of grungy feel to it that’s a perky upbeat palette-cleanser from the sludgy grime of The Call before it. Likewise, the opening guitar and drum pattern of Orb Weaver has a nu-metal quality to it which stands worlds apart from the rapid punk fury of Alt Delete and Copstomp. In lesser hands, it’s possible that these stylistic changes could make the album sound a little bit of a mish-mash, but by being the brainchild of just one person End You manages to side step this issue with a discernible personality shining through on every track on the album.
Aimless Dread really doesn’t shy away from much, with political lyrics, feedback and noise pummelling you for its 44 minute runtime. But it never pretended to be any different, with Smith claiming that this is the most intense output of his career thus far. And intense it most certainly is! This isn’t an album for people looking to escape modern life and all its issues, and End You isn’t an artist that is going to make things easy for a listener. But you might just find that Aimless Dread has provided a perfect catharsis to get you through whatever the hell else gets thrown at us next.
(4 / 5)
