ALBUM REVIEW: I Let It In And It Took Everything – Loathe

Liverpudlian quintet LOATHE have been taking the music scene by storm since their debut EP, Prepare Consume Proceed. Since then we’ve seen another EP and the band’s debut full-length The Cold Sun. When the band started to showcase their sound, the following they gathered was quick and large, and saw the band being booked for many festivals and shows and established their name for being the ones to watch. Now their second full-length I Let It In And It Took Everything is sure fire to bolster their name even further and really set a much-deserving music career in stone for them.

When the album begins it is noticeable that LOATHE have refined their sound. From every element that has built up their sound over the past few years, they’ve managed to bind it together effortlessly to create something so unique to them. The calm before the storm comes with opening track Theme, before plunging into darkness with squealing guitars and a filthy low bass line, mixing both unclean and clean vocals, the two styles intertwining around one another.

That vocal pair-off work together throughout the remainder or the album, at some points there are some hints of DEFTONES, but it is not to be said that LOATHE have copied, just a simple and tasteful reflection on the influence they have perhaps played, because there is too much individuality that is building up their style on this album.

There’s a lot of heaviness that fills I Let It In…, musically yes, but more on an emotional level. The quintet have managed to forge an atmosphere using low-frequency sounds that can only be described as the sound of how despair feels. Despite this, there’s moments of grace on the album where there’s glimmers of hope and aspiration, it almost becomes a journey of the inner dealings someone may have. To be able to achieve that contrast and do it on a subtle note with no direct approach is an incredible thing to have control over, and with LOATHE having refined their sound they seem to have been able to get the balance of every other element expertly placed down.

It shouldn’t be mistaken that this refined sound takes away from any ferocity that comes with the band, because each time they take a turn from their atmospheric tracks such as 451 Days, Is It Really You? and A Sad Cartoon, you’re soon to be left with the blistering forces of Broken Vision Rhythm, Gored and Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Thoughts. The twists and turns that LOATHE have managed to plumb into I Let It In… are next to none and once again show that they’re at the top of their game and are showing no signs in sitting back and getting comfortable.

If you’re after another The Cold Sun, you won’t be left disappointed in any sense, but you will have to prepare yourself that it still isn’t going to be as you expect it to be. I Let It In And It Took Everything is a massive leap from LOATHE‘s earlier material, yet still stays close to home. Again, they’ve managed to get the balance at just the perfect point. This is the quintet pushing out their best material so far, and also leaving a note for the future that they’re only going to carry on upping their game with their experimental fusions. For some, colliding so many sounds together can be a big risk and a big mistake, but for LOATHE they are clearly proving that taking a risk is what makes them, and the mistake for them would be to sit and do what everyone else is doing. I Let It In And It Took Everything is an intelligent, articulate and compelling album that has kicked off the band’s decade with an almighty bang.

Rating: 9/10 

I Let It In And It Took Everything is set for release on February 7th via SharpTone Records.

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