The years have been certainly eventful globally since the last Destrage full-length, 2019’s The Chosen One (Metal Blade). Somewhat eventful. 

Whilst no one at this stage really needs further reminders of the global pandemic, it is worth noting here in the sense that the band’s home, Italy, was hit particularly hard by it. Secondly, it is an event that has had obvious impacts on the band; with their stated uncertainty of playing again and notably some of the content and the overall vibrancy of their latest, unhinged product, SO MUCH. too much. (3 DOT Recordings).

Following the relatively streamlined nature of their more recent albums, SO MUCH.  too much. is strikingly more varied throughout its duration with several off-kilter moments. Album opener “A Commercial Break That Lasts Forever” is frantic right from the offset, immediately erupting into a sharp pace and an intricate mathcore chaos. ‘Everything Sucks and I Think I’m A Big Part Of It’ similarly follows a similar style whilst bolstered again by the massive vocal passages especially the titled, nearly narcissistic refrain. 

The first notable curveball comes in the near euphoric ‘Italian Boi’ which is filled with a sarcastic sentiment that only Destrage could pull off in this way, with lyrics pertaining to a lover falling for an Italian boy and noticing Italian stereotypes (as stated by the band themselves). It is as uniquely tongue-in-cheek song, matched with electronics and stark samples throughout. 

Following this is the near anthemic and deceptively dark ‘Private Party’ (featuring Devin Townsend to further the quota of madness) which is armed with an immediate, catchy chorus and upbeat instrumentation, contrasting to the introspective and isolating subject matter. Add to this this the surprisingly (compared to much of the rest of proceedings) straightforward cover of Stone Temple Pilots’ ‘Vaseline’ which, once again, feels somewhat in jest.

There are a multitude of directions and shifts throughout the album, and this can prove daunting on first listen but a lot of it becomes familiar pretty quickly, aided by the fact that every member delivers a tight performance throughout, strengthened by Paulo Colvaolpe’s vocal delivery and range, often adopting such in single songs.

SO MUCH.  too much. is, to all intents and purposes, a challenging listen when you first come to it, particularly in regards to trying to piece all of its elements together. This comes to the fore especially when comparing some of the aforementioned frenzied moments to the peaceful ‘Rimashi’, or the somewhat poignant closing track ‘Everything Sucks Less’… a mantra which definitely rings true when albums as interesting, captivating and quite simply fun as this enter the world.

Buy the album here: https://linktr.ee/destrage

8 / 10

CHRIS TIPPELL