Album Review: Ithaca - 'The Language of Injury'
UK metallic hardcore outfit Ithaca give us their debut dose of heaviness, ‘The Language Of Injury’. Taking inspiration from genres outside of their own, such as Doom and Math Rock, the band put together a thirty-one minute blinder of a record that’s sure to earn them a well-deserved place in the world of heavy music.
The self-titled lead single and its accompanying video are a good way to quickly pick up where the band are going with this one, switching from ambient to brutal at the flick of a switch.
One of the record’s key features is how progressive it is. The band themselves formed over a mutual love for the genre and a shared disappointment at the lack of ambition within it, something which they immediately remedy in their own tunes. Tracks like ‘Secretspace’, switches from loud pounding guitars, to quiet breaks, accompanied by soul crushing vocals, exemplify Ithaca’s approach well. The band bring in whatever they want on a track by track basis, from serene clean vocals, to abrasive guitar moves, building something so perfect out of conflicting elements.
’The Language of Injury’ shows off a band early on in their career but with very impressive material. With its short run time, it’s a perfect sucker punch of violent guitars that’s produced so cleverly, track’s like, ‘CLSR’ are a great example of just how creatively put together this record is, drifting in before unfolding its riffs and vocal refrains. It cannot be stressed enough how good this album sounds coming from a genre that can be hard to listen to. This is certainly one for the heavy metal lovers and fans of anything metallic and/or hardcore. You should probably also have a sturdy neck and strong constitution as this record will definitely get you head banging.
Words by Nathan Blackstone
'The Language of Injury' is out the 1st February via Holy Roar Records