LIMBS is a Florida-based post-hardcore project that caught my attention last year when I saw them with Capsize in Webster Hall’s Studio room. I’ve had a few of my friends tell me about their music before, and I thought it was pretty sick when I checked it out. However, seeing these guys perform their material is a whole new level of amazing. I put these guys on my Top 25 Concert Performances of 2017 for a reason (click here). The energy they gave off in their performance was absolutely impeccable, something many artists can only wish to imitate, and the fact that this young band was already destroying some of their contemporaries’ live-performance peaks really spoke to me. Late last year, these guys re-released their SLEEP EP on Equal Vision Records, and are now on UFND Records, through which they’ve put out their debut, Father’s Son, just in time for their tour with legendary metalcore headliners Underoath. This LP is 11 tracks in 34 minutes, and each of these tracks is gifted with absolute passion. From the moment “Fed” begins, to the closing notes of “Blister,” these guys showcase an obscene amount of energy. The first four tracks on this LP are all mosh-inducing, bringing listeners back to post-break-up Underoath. I’m talking about Disambiguation and Lost in the Sound of Separation, where the group was at their most abrasive and hard-hitting. LIMBS craft ultra-catchy, punky tracks out of that sound. There isn’t a moment that feels even slightly dull. These choruses are downright infectious. I feel like recent -core bands can’t get choruses down without sounding forced, but for LIMBS, they come naturally; the title-track and “Abba” are perfect examples. With this fast and abrasive structure, the group incorporates some very unexpected, very tasty Radiohead influences, especially on “Homestead” and possibly my favorite track on the project, “Crossed.” Limbs are able to pace these tracks so that, following approximately two minutes of complete and utter chaos, the slow, relaxing bridges feels like organic intermissions before the next section of chaos. Chris Constanza is already proving to be one of the most versatile vocalists in the current post-hardcore game. His harsh vocals are stellar, and he can switch from raw, yelled cleans to controlled, melancholic singing, but he neither overshadows or is overshadowed by the guitar work, which on tracks like “Abba” and “Homestead,” is super tight and on-point. The rhythm section kills it on “Sacrament” and “Black Thumb.” They create a heavy, percussive-based environment on these tracks that build upon the angry, raw emotion of the album thus far. “Sacrament” contrasts nicely with the title-track in terms of rhythm; whereas the former gets a nice spotlight, the latter shows them driving the momentum. Father’s Son loses a bit of momentum in the final two tracks; “Tangled Hands” is a pretty weird choice for a single, and I can’t lie when I say that it was a little worrying to hear prior to the official record release. The chorus is nice enough, but for the most part, it feels like filler with a particularly unnecessary and incomplete-sounding guitar solo, which sounds like it was recorded in one take and tacked-on last-minute. Moreover, it’s mixed differently from the rest of the record. “Blister” doesn’t really stand out either, and ends the LP on a bit of a whimper. Otherwise, this is a solid, hard-hitting debut. Post-hardcore was very much in need of a band like LIMBS. I think there is a bright future for this project, and their horizons are poised to expand on this upcoming tour with Underoath. I just hope they lay off the awkward solo-ing. VERDICT: Father’s Son is one of the best debuts I have heard from a post-hardcore project in a very long time, following through on the promise of their EP. If you are into 2000s metalcore and post-hardcore of any kind, these guys cannot let you down.
- Alex Brown
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