ALBUM REVIEW: Beautiful Oblivion – Issues
With two albums already in their rear-view mirror, ISSUES quickly carved themselves a space in the zeitgeist of metalcore and have become a band keen to challenge perceptions on where the boundaries of the genre lie. In a move similar to what nu metal did in blending rock and metal with hip-hop and rap, ISSUES have often been cited as fronting a movement dubbed “new nu metal” or nu metalcore in which elements of metalcore are fused with pop and R&B to create a genre stylistically reflective of the 2010s. Beautiful Oblivion comes as the band’s third full-length album and most drastic stylistic change to date, seeing the band venture even further into the realms of pop.
Right off the bat, rather than straddling the line between metalcore and pop, Beautiful Oblivion is noticeably aligned a lot further towards the latter. The album as a whole contains even fewer elements of metalcore when compared with the previous two albums (no screamed vocals and fewer heavy guitar riffs) and feels like the next step in the metamorphosis of ISSEUS‘ sound, further pushing the band away from the sound they’re known for and into pastures new. Against the backdrop of the band’s more poppy sound, however, some of the metalcore elements that made it onto the album feel haphazardly crowbarred in and exist as more of an attempt to appease the band’s older fans rather than to fit the context of the song. One of the most jarring examples of this comes on the track Find Forever, where the John Meyer-esque, bluesy guitar lines of the intro and verse give way to a djenty distorted riff which feels overtly out of place with the rest of the track.
With this album, it is clear that Issues are attempting a stylistic left turn akin to those made by DEAF HAVANA or BRING ME THE HORIZON – with the outcome sounding not unlike the former. Despite this, when listening to Beautiful Oblivion you can’t escape an apparent feeling of blandness: uninspiring at best, straight-up boring at worst. It’s like a living room wall that’s painted white, inoffensive and easy to ignore. The cause of this is glaringly obvious, the sound they’re attempting to emulate has been done much better by bands who actively bring something new to the table, rather than go the safe route and rehash old tropes to provide what is overall a palatable, but ultimately dull product.
With that being said, there’s no denying that ISSUES are an immensely talented band. Songs like Your Sake really showcase frontman Tyler Carter‘s impressive vocal chops and some of the guitar riffs and percussion lines throughout the album highlight just how versatile the instrumentalists are. But the album’s main problem is its indecisiveness. Utter atrocities like Flexin exist alongside the more rock-tinged Second Best in a stylistic tug-of-war that neither side manages to win.
Beautiful Oblivion is not a bad album, it’s easily digestible, inoffensive, and a pretty good start to ISSUES‘ next chapter. Some of you will love it, some of you will hate it, and a lot of you just won’t care. Over the course of the album nothing really stands out and in the only instance that it does, it’s not for good reasons (see Flexin). Beautiful Oblivion plants its flag firmly in the middle of the road and with no boundaries to push or statements to make, and that’s where it stays.
Rating: 6/10
Beautiful Oblivion is out now via Rise Records.
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