I can not be more stoked. I saw Plebeian Grandstand a few years ago when they toured the states with Reproacher. They happened to be touring the states at the same time as Hexis, and I was able to see both bands at once. Needless to say it was one of the most intense shows I have ever seen. But the reason I am so stoked is not only is this album amazing, but Throatruiner Records, the label putting this record out, contacted me directly asking if I would be interested in writing a review, and accompanied the request with a full download of the record. Throatruiner, thanks so much! It's pretty cool getting requests from labels you dig for bands you respect. Anyways, here it is:
The follow up to Lowgazers had to be nothing short of incredible. The bands 2014 full length release was one of the best records of the year, in my opinion, and took the wave of blackened hardcore releases to a new tier. The French four-piece has taken the genre and completely overhauled it. It's not as simple as flipping it on itself, but they have taken it and created a new limb. Dark, exhausting, and claustrophobic.
False Highs, True Lows, which will be released by Throatruiner Records on April 29, is yet another extension on the hybrid they are creating. Really, the category of blackened hardcore doesn't do the band or the record justice. It's too often thrown around to any form of aggressive music baring a black metal attitude. What Plebeian Grandstand is creating here is a not just an intense monumental record, but an entire experience.
The record is exhausting. It's like a freight train pummeling down the tracks towards your damsel in distress body tied up and waiting in full blown horror. Or a car crash from the inside as you flip over and over and every piece of metal and debris is flying in all directions along with your body. From the opening haunting repetition of "Mal Du Siecle" setting the mood for the record, followed by the chaos of "Low Empire" with those signature piercing guitar riffs by Simon Chaubard, and then to the first taste of the record we got "Tributes And Oblivions," which boasts inhuman drumming and haunting vocals that both lay deep underneath the walls of sound and present themselves as an entirely new instrument, the record is itself a different environment in a different atmosphere.
The record slows down about half way through with "Mineral Tears" which lasts a whopping 58 seconds. The track is merely a noise filler, but instead of acting as a pause or breather break, it only really displays itself as anxious. It's creepy, sudden, and long enough to really evoke the feeling of claustrophobia that the rest of the album encompasses.
Quick time changes, arpeggios, constant, unrelenting drumming, and guttural screams and howls haunt the record from the first instant until the first breath you can hope is waiting for your dried lungs at the end of this record. Plebeian Grandstand have truly created a violent, shifting, whirlwind of a record. One that will undoubtedly be on the tops of everyone's "best of" list this year.
Listen to "Tributes And Oblivions" below.
Pre-order the record through Throatruiner or through Deathwish in the states.
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