Uniform - The Long Walk

Uniform first emerged on the Industrial and Metal scene back in 2013, and I first got around to checking them out with their 2013 EP "Our Blood".  And honestly, I didn't have too much to say about it. "Our Blood" was a sloppily produced, overly noisy jam and "Of Sound Mind and Body", while it did show much more truly interesting ideas, left me just wanting more.  But Uniform really started cooking with 2016's "Ghosthouse" EP.  This was a much more Industrial and had some seriously wild recordings.  And honestly, I loved every minute of it.  Uniform here didn't come off as a bunch of guys screwing around with feedback, they sounded focused and legitimately nasty.  In 2015 we got our first taste of a studio album from Uniform with "Perfect World', and honestly, I was a little disappointed.  I feel like I was having terrible flashbacks listening to this and remembering the early days of this project.  Uniform, outside of the wild "Buyer's Remorse", just sounded unfocused.  The grimy production was nice, and when they were on, they were on.  But this album was sloppily produced, and if the guys were trying to progress their sound, I couldn't hear it.  But with 2017's "Wake In Fright", I felt like Uniform finally got their sound.  This album had blistering and aggressive Punk tracks but also had Industrial grooves that Trent Reznor wishes he could have written.  Tracks like "The Killing of America" and "Bootlicker" were simply put, fantastic tracks.  And while I did sort of wish they went further and heavier at times, I felt like Uniform finally had their sound.  So what did Uniform decide to do next?  Why, they do whatever any current Metal band does in between albums, record a split album with The Body.  And honestly, I was super excited for this album.  But it really didn't leave any impact on me whatsoever.  This was an album that was very noisy, abrasive and wild.  But it showed nothing of that great progression Uniform showed us on "Wake In Fright", and honestly I just ended up being really let down by this release.  So Uniform are back, with some of their most aggressive singles to date.  Let's chat about it!

Right off the bat Uniform scratches all the right itches with “The Walk”. I love just how big and bulky the production is here and just how massive the band sounds.  As a trio, these days, the band’s sound is broader than ever. I love just how grimy and disgusting this track is, which is just made even more gut-wrenching by this absolutely putrid and explosive vocal performance.  But of course, because we’re dealing with Industrial Metal, these are all brilliant qualities.  But it’s also oddly catchy in parts too, like on that really memorable guitar hook on the chorus that reminds me a whole lot of early 2000’s Alt-Metal in the best way.  This track is wildly explosive, and I love every second of it.  Plus, the atmosphere here is just so much more on point than what we were hearing on the band’s previous material.  This is one for lifting weights by my friends. On the other hand “Human Condition” is even grizzlier and more aggressive.  If you haven’t realized already, this album isn’t for the weak of heart.  The pacing on this one is genius, as Uniform isn’t rushing for anyone, and are just taking their own damn time pummeling everything in their path.  Now, Michael Berdan isn’t the best singer around, I get that.  But I just love the way he’s constantly spewing out every emotion in his body, no matter if it sounds good or not.  Sure, they aren’t bringing in as many industrial grooves, but holy fuck does this one get your blood pumping. The onslaught continues with “Found” in a big way.  This one is ridiculously sludgy and aggressive.   But it’s moments like this that I feel like it maybe comes off a little too abrasive, that’s just my thoughts though.  Here, Michael doesn’t sound nearly as tuneful, which I know shouldn’t matter in these genres but it does to me.  It’s just a mess of noise and aggression, which is just fine on paper.  And there’s certainly nothing wrong with it.  But there’s nothing truly memorable about this that sticks once it’s over.  But instrumentally, this is still stunning.  On the other hand, “Transubstantiation” is just so sludgy, but is instantly filled with a whole to more personality.  I love the chugging riff here and the immense pacing.  It’s in moments like this that I feel like Uniform have something special.  They’re not playing their instruments constantly at blistering speeds, they’re doing things at their own pace, exploding only when they feel like it.  The riff here is wonderfully massive and pummeling, and I love how the vocals just come off so tortured and manic.  Uniform really do have one hell of a sound. 

On the other hand, “Alone In The Dark” shows the band breaking out into a more Hardcore sound.  The sheer amount of feedback on this track is ridiculous and is enough to make Sludge or Doom Metal fans perk up instantly.  But then we get this absolutely rowdy, the intense verse that shows the band embracing their Punk side, which is something I really wish they did a little more.  It’s a brutal track, with Michael on vocals sounding absolutely tortured.  Which is honestly, right where I want to hear him the most.  It’s just so focused and chugging, this is all gravy, my friends.  Then we get moments here like “Headless Eyes” that just sound so big and bulky, nearly suffocating.  Like, they obviously took a lot from working with The Body.  But here, very quickly they bring in these absolutely massive, muscular grooves that are just so God Damn hypnotic and instantaneous, and I love it.  This is gonna be a workout album for a lot, a damn good one that keeps throwing you off by just attacking you at all sides.  This is a great sound for these guys and the last 30 pummeling seconds in absolutely intense.   Once Uniform get in this groove, it just gets so hard to stop them.  I love just how steak and determined “Anointing Of The Sick” comes off, the sluggish grooves here are just so muscular and well put together.  And though this isn’t one of Michael’s most memorable performances of the bunch, he’s still just fantastic at getting in your head and making his performances so tortured.  And this incredibly noisy, wailing guitar solo here is just so damn good.  Ohhhhh boy, but “Peaceable Kingdom” is the most abrasive of the bunch.  I feel like this is the end result of every noisy passage on this entire album.  Which, no, isn’t bad at all, I love hearing these guys at their noisiest and most progressive.  But this slow-paced, very cautious track is just not the way to do it.  There are some really cool elements to it, like the fantastic vocals and the patient ticking in the background.   So this one just sort of ends up being an alright finale sadly, but it could have been a whole lot more let me tell you.

Rating: 7.8/10


Give A Listen To: “The Walk”, “Transubstantiation”, “Alone In The Dark”, “Headless Eyes”

Least Favorite Track: “Found”

Genre: Industrial Metal / Experimental Metal / Noise Metal

Overall Thoughts:  Pound for pound this is Uniform’s most consistent release to date.  Sure, it shows them slowly getting away from the grooves and Industrial styling of their early recordings.  But working as a trio these days has made their sound vaster than ever, and shows the band embracing their most raw and Punk-oriented sounds to date.  Their guitars are crunchier, and Michael Berdan on vocals honestly sounds more tortured and twisted than ever.  Now, I do feel like in one or two moments Uniform let their noisy roots get a little out of control, and they don’t end up writing nearly as a well-structured song as I know they can.  But this album is still the most consistent throughout project they’ve brought to the table yet.