Mental health is a topic that has been covered by the alternative scene a lot, potentially even being one of the most active causes in the community. Where bands and artists feature a lot darker and edgier sounds and images, themes of depression, anger & loneliness comes alongside as part of the package deal. Metalcore newcomers, Graphic Nature are no different to that. Describing himself as an outsider, vocalist Harvey Freeman says “Not enough people talk about it in a genuine way.” With their debut album, A Mind Waiting To Die (Rude Records) Graphic Nature are here to change things to talk about the crisis of mental health issues genuinely, in their own style.
From the get-go with initial track ‘404’, the metal five-piece show their main influences on their sleeves instantly, bringing forth memories of metalcore acts past. The atmosphere-bending instrumental track, is reminiscent of nu-metal stalwarts Linkin Park in their introductory song on Meteora. It is clear with the aforementioned focus on mental health, that nu-metal was a key influence in showing how important this was.
‘Sour’ takes this atmosphere built in the previous track and throws it completely into disarray as Freeman launches himself into a frenetic burst of screams. Think Iowa-era Corey Taylor meets Jason Aalon Butler. The guitars sound filthy as high pitch squeals are intermittently made. It’s almost as if someone had managed to translate the Saw films into audio. Freeman sounds possessed as he builds into the first breakdown on the album. It is without a doubt the band are big believers in making the right first impression as they put their whole beings into the frenzied breakdown, unquestionably the cause of numerous mosh pits in future tours to come.
The following track, ‘Into The Dark’, truly shows what sets Graphic Nature as a band to look out for. Originally set to release with completely different lyrics, these original lines were scrapped in favour of one’s written only half an hour prior to recording the vocals for the song. Delving deep inside Freeman’s childhood home life. What was brought up was some darker content regarding what he knows as a broken home.Imagery sprung forwards from the lines “I’ve seen this rotting wood before, this home has shown its cracks, our foundations have left us in the dark.’ It’s this level of vulnerability that resonates throughout the album that elevates the music to a whole new level. What hits hardest of all is when the song starts to end, Freeman just repeats, screaming, almost as a mantra to himself: “Fuck you, I’m fine without you.” Whether he is trying to convince the listeners or himself is unknown.
It’s at the end of the album, with ‘Downpour’ where the nu-metal-inspired metalcore goes into full throttle. Elements of Korn & Slipknot are transparent in the instrumentals. With eerie sound effects combined with harmonics and that key metal-core bass create a deep heavy sound that would make your grandmother jump up and down with the sound. The sound may be described as derivative, but when it’s done to this level of passion & quality, the uniqueness of the music overall can be overlooked.
On their debut album, Graphic Nature have managed to replicate the vibe of nineties nu-metal and interpolate that into today’s metalcore scene, whilst at the same time make one of the most personal and vulnerable pieces of music in the genre so far this year. This band have made sure to let everyone know that they’ve got one bright future ahead of them.
Buy the album here:
https://graphicnature404.bandcamp.com/album/a-mind-waiting-to-die
7 / 10
CHARLIE HILL