ALBUM REVIEW: A Different Shade Of Blue – Knocked Loose

The waters of hardcore seemed a whole lot calmer before KNOCKED LOOSE turned up. The Kentucky quintet’s debut record Laugh Tracks was a whirlpool of sonic vigour unlike almost anything we’ve seen in this last decade. As a result the band’s reputation already precedes them, known for their ultra violent, energetic live shows: these five Louisville savages have become one of the must see acts of this generation in the space of just three years.

KNOCKED LOOSE are so much more than just a crowd kill inducing collective of monsters though. And the bands sophomore record A Different Shade Of Blue puts them at the apex of modern hardcore. The last three years have seemingly given birth to a transition in the band’s sound, this is every bit as ravenous as its predecessor – but there’s a progression in straight up songwriting nouse here that was almost impossible to see coming.

A Different Shade Of Blue refuses to be content with just being the heaviest album in the room. What KNOCKED LOOSE manage to weave in and out of this 37 minutes of annihilation is quite staggering. Album opener Belleville has the groove tempo of SUFFOCATION surrounding it, while By The Grave is riddled with the downright slam of DYING FETUS. This is a brand of hardcore that sits well outside the comfort zone of its own genre.

Perhaps the true genius of this album though is that the band manage to expand their musical canvas without straying away from their greatest characteristics. There are enough gut churning breakdowns on offer here to twist your insides, and vocalist Bryan Garris‘ wretched mosh call of “I have a bone to pick with death, he still follows me around” on Guided By The Moon is one of the most absurdly violent sounds you will have heard outside of a Stephen King horror.

As horrifyingly scathing as Garris remains throughout the entirety of A Different Shade Of Blue, it’s the rhythm section on offer here that’s often the show stealer. Guitarist Cole Crutchfield and drummer Kevin Kaine have meshed together here to concoct some of the most relentless, spectacular changes of pace you could hope for. Not even the genius Keith Buckley featuring on Forget Your Name can take away from the duo’s rapidly fluctuating energy of stomp and vitriol.

With no tokenism intended though, this is an album that simply could not exist without each member. Similar to SLIPKNOT‘s self titled record, A Different Shade Of Blue really is a tale of every component being a vital piece of the chaos. Comparison’s to the Iowan’s early work may sound bold from the outset – but once you get within the bones of this album, you’ll soon realise it’s not. Central to this cauldron of finely tuned insanity is producer Will Putney – who puts in a career highlight performance throughout A Different Shade of Blue.

It’s not unrealistic to claim that there’s every chance people will look back in 10 years and see this album as a game changer. Not just for KNOCKED LOOSE, but for metal and hardcore in general. A Different Shade Of Blue is KNOCKED LOOSE‘s Iowa, the album that took the insanity from its predecessor and bridged it into a multi faceted musical machine. The future of heavy music is now.

Rating: 9/10

A Different Shade of Blue is set for release on August 23rd via Pure Noise Records.

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