Metz - "Strange Peace"

When I was in college, I started getting into a lot of Garage Rock and Garage Punk.  Death From Above 1979, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees were all regulars on my playlists.  Then in 2012 I came across Canadian band METZ, and proceeded to blow out all my headphones.  This was the noisiest, most abrasive and most ridiculously explosive Garage album I had heard in years.  There were elements of Noise Rock and Hardcore Punk galore, and I literally probably listened to this album every day for about a year.  Tracks like "Headache" and "Wasted" still to this day are staples on any of my workout playlists, and overall this album is just ridiculously good.  Now, take all of that, and throw it out the window, and you have the band;s 2015 follow-up "II".  I have no idea what happened on this album.  But these songs were borderline terrible.  Sure, tracks like "Landfill" and "I.O.U. were great.  But the majority of the rest of the album was complete filler.  Ugh, now, to be honest, these new singles from METZ have certainly been an improvement.  But I still haven't heard anything from them that's completely stuck with me start to finish.  Let's talk about new METZ album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ3AMjoVIOY

(Let me tell you, the first time I heard this, it really changed the way I listen to music)

    This album starts off with “Mess of Wires” and it’s certainly a wake-up call.  I feel like in a way, METZ just keeps getting heavier with each release.  But not since their first album have I heard them incorporate the sort of melodic passages that I’m desperate to hear again.  Because this one is certainly heavy, nobodies going to take THAT away from them.  And they certainly are focused, because this may be the most driving riff that I’ve ever heard out of METZ.  But outside of that, there really isn’t that much to say about “Mess of Wires”.  Intensity only really goes so far, especially when you know a band has so much more to offer.  So no, I’m really not that into this as an intro.  Next up is “Drained Lake”, and this continues to be just a seriously noisy and grungy album.  But even at METZ’s heaviest, I don’t remember ever hearing them being this grimy.  However, I will say this.  This is a vast improvement from the album’s opener.  I love how explosive the riff on this one is, and just how driving the material continues to be.  Not to mention, Steve Albini’s legendary production actually makes this one sound really tinny, in a good way.  To be honest, I think that’s actually a really great sound for METZ and makes them sound more abrasive.  On the other hand, I’m really not that into the vocals of Alex Edkins, which is something that at a point in my life I was obsessed with.  Alex however here though sounds so shaky.  But I’ll give him this, he does sound seriously out of control.  Not to mention, I do like some of the backing vocals that give this one some depth.  So far, this album has been a seriously mixed bag.  “Cellophane” on the other hand, is all around a really decent sound for METZ.  It’s still just as intense and abrasive.  But at least this one sounds like it was actually thought out and not just a blast of aggression.  Even Alex sounds more comfortable in this sort of atmosphere.  This track actually has a ton going for it.  For example, I love how melodic the chorus is, and how this riff sort of sounds like an updated Classic Rock riff infected by fuzz and distortion.  It’s easily the most exciting and ear-grabbing thing I’ve heard so far, so shout outs to Steve Albini for this production.  The solo’s here also are incredibly exciting, and everything about “Cellophane” is just so explosive.  Let’s get some more of THIS ASAP.  METZ sadly don’t answer my prayer, as “Caterpillar” is easily the slowest and tamest track here.  The riff is almost hypnotic since it’s basically the bulk of what we have going on here.  But overall this track is awful.  I don’t know who METZ think they are, but they aren’t some Experimental band or a Drone act.  “Caterpillar’ has the grace of an elephant on a motorbike, and it’s not pretty.  Alex’s very hazy and almost Shoegaze influenced vocals don’t do a damn thing either.  Every time this album sort of gets me excited, something like THIS happened and it just makes me want to turn it off.

    On the other hand “Lost In the Blank City” actually, has some really great tension building up in the intro.  And oh BOY, this one actually goes somewhere!  Who would have thought?  This one explodes with one of the noisiest and most ridiculous riffs I’ve heard from METZ in a very long time.  This track is just so dirty and ridiculously beefy, its times like this where Steve Albini’s production comes off at its finest.  And while it’s not as melodic as I would have liked it to be, this is sort of intense Noise Rock I want to hear from METZ.  The distorted guitars sound so foreign, and the explosive drums sound like guns going off half the time.  Hell YES, this is the kind of track I want to hear.  The absolute all-out assault of this album continues with “Mr. Plague”.  Now, instrumentally you gotta realize, a lot of these tracks are so simple for the most part, mostly just focusing on exploding riffs and brutal drums.  However, the melodies, however slight and easy going they are are really what drives tracks like “Mr. Plague” home.  This may not be fancy, but it’s some above average, Brick-In-Your-Face Noise Rock.  And I continue to have to stress, this is so much more memorable than anything from their last album.  And while yes, I do sort of wish conceptually maybe there was a little more substance, this is an awesome tune.  But then we have tracks like “Sink”, which are just sort of awkward and weird.  I mean, this is literally 90% feedback and 10% half-assed harmony.  It’s alright, and that’s about the most of it.  I do like some of the production here, as well as the very D.I.Y. atmosphere.  But the whole time I’m sort of sitting here just wishing this was more intense.  Every time I hear a slight riff, I get excited for this explosion that never seems to show up.  But like I said, I do enjoy some of the more melodic moments on “Sink”.  But at almost 4 minutes long, this one almost sounds like it goes on forever.  On the other hand, “Common Trash” is exactly what I want to hear.  Come on guys, just stick to THIS sound right here and give me a whole album of this.  It’s abrasive, it’s heavy, and it seems like it’s constantly shifting and turning.  But here, METZ are able to really hit home by incorporating some melodic passages as well.  So far, “Common Trash” may be the closest thing to where I truly want to hear them.  But come on guys.  This track is literally so simple, why can’t we get more of this?  I digress, this track is brilliant.

    You know, I was beginning to think METZ could end this album well.  But the truth is, the final moments of this album are really weird.  First, we have “Escalator Teeth” which continues to be everything I want to hear from METZ.  But while it’s literally perfect, WHY THE HELL IS THIS TRACK 40 SECONDS.  Don’t give me the “well it’s their Hardcore Punk Roots” answer, I’m not buying that.  They could have EASILY made this a 3-minute jam.  Then we have “Dig A Hole” which brings back a lot of that same intensity that I’ve been loving.  But by this point, METZ have thrown song structure out the window.  This one once again is so good but is barely over a minute.  With all of the longer tracks here, these last two tracks together could have been a minute or so longer and stolen the show.  Now I’m not going to sugarcoat, the finale “Raw Materials” is a damn mess.  I get that METZ wants to go for the most abrasive sound possible.  But some of the noisiest albums ever produced have continuity at least, and certainly a little more structure.  I hate to say it, but while “Raw Material” has a few exciting moments, remains a mess.  And as it moves on, I feel like it just gets worse and worse.  

Rating: 7.2/10

Give A Listen To:  "Cellophane", Lost In Blank City", Mr. Plague", "Common Trash"

Genre: Noise Rock / Garage Rock / Punk Rock 

If You Dig This, Check Out: METZ - "METZ", Death From Above 1979 - "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine", FIDLAR - "FIDLAR"

Overall Thoughts:  I expected so much more from this album, I really did.  I thought working with Steve Albini would be the one element that brought METZ back to where they could be.  And trust me, Steve does work his magic, because this is miles better than their last album.  There's some great riffs of course, and the sheer intensity of this is certainly very well done.  Not to mention, the more harmonious choruses are a really nice touch.  But I still feel like the band hasn't even gotten close to the greatness they started their career with.