Album Review: Landmvrks - 'Fantasy'
French post-hardcore/metalcore outfit LANDMVRKS are back to tackle the notoriously difficult sophomore album, an album that can make or break a band. In their case, it lands on the positive side as they fulfil every metalhead’s appetite with an album full of harsh screams and brutal breakdowns that will leave you shuddering from its intensity.
Speaking about the album, the band explains, “Lyrically the whole album is about love, life, fear, relationships and despair. It's an introspective trip into someone's mind. A journey, which makes you stronger after every bump in the road – every trial and tribulation along the way. It's about love in all its aspects, hope, shame, happiness, sadness, chaos. Sometimes all of these feelings can be overwhelming to the point where you're having trouble distinguishing the truth from the false, the reality from the dream. So the word "Fantasy" sums it all up well. The album was written, produced mixed and mastered at our own recording studio "Homeless Records" based in Marseille. We've been working on it for more than 2 years now, it's been a long and rewarding experience. Doing it alone has allowed us to push the details to their limits and have total control over our work.”
An atmospheric opening in ‘Fantasy’ lures you into a false sense of security as a whispery melody breezes through. This tranquility is quickly shattered by frenetic riffs, which plunge you into a series of brutal vocals. The emotive melody found in the chorus is completely abandoned in ‘Wake Up Call’, with it’s merciless attack as heavy instrumentals and vocals pummel into you from all sides. Blast beats combine with sustained screaming to bring the world to your feet, shattered into pieces, yet you can’t help but want more of this intensity. ‘Scars’ sees some dazzling guitar work whilst ‘The Worst Of You And Me’ simply demands you to take action as Florentina Salfati screams ‘Get up!’. Pulling back with an evocative bridge, it’s a piece that halts you in your track with its honest lyricism and bitter anger, an emotion that all of us will have experienced at some point.
The tender opening of ‘Blistering’ quickly gives way to emotive instrumentals that as the track title suggests, sear through you with a blistering intensity. The pounding drums will shake you to your core, whilst the bass match it’s fury to create a firm rhythm backbone. A poignant track comes in the form of ‘Alive’, which features Camille Contreras. The high vocals of Camille brings in a delicate quality - although make no mistake, their voice isn’t delicate but contains much power - and the octave vocals will leave tingles down your spine. The scene-setting ‘Kurhah’ paves the way for a strong ending in ‘Disdain’. LANDMVRKS’ sophomore effort is a smashing one, and this French band will be one to keep an eye out for in the world of metal.
Words by Athena Kam