Matador – They Were here Before Us
Self Released - December 2019
Post Rock/Post Metal
Rated: *****
Matador give us an album called They Were Here Before Us with six powerful tracks that will make mountains crumble into the sea and the moon move out of orbit. For me, post-metal is in danger of becoming stale, with only a handful of bands capable of rising above the cut'n'paste copyists that seem to litter this genre. Luckily for us all, Matador escape that trap with thoughtful song writing capabilities that have an epic feel to them and yet still retain a hardcore edge to focus the tracks with razor-sharp guitar riffs that slice through the sonic denseness. Atmospherics that are sparsely used do not overplay their hand, instead they add, rather than distract from the rage and despair being played out through the songs. Despite the power and fury, there is a hypnotic quality due to the running order of the tracks that brings a cohesive feel that just sounds right. And because Matador are good guys it is NYP on Bandcamp.
(Written by Tony Maim)
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