ALBUM REVIEW: Metamorphosis – Third Wave

THIRD WAVE are an odd dynamic to comprehend in modern metal. They have all the naive sensibilities that you would hope to find in an alternative band looking to make waves. Yet its within this crystal ball of ambition where the band often struggle to craft a musical style capable of allowing them to leave a mark. The bands humble beginnings as a group of friends confined within a basement in 2015 is a heartwarming one. Organic tales of how a band fought their way through obscurity to make it to the studio is the kind of feel good factor that goes hand in hand with metal. And there’s real moments in Metamorphosis where the bands infancy is part of their charm, but the record never manages to sustain its momentum long enough to be considered a solid effort throughout.

Algorithm has an opening 30 seconds that juxtaposes itself in odd fashion, with riffs that you could see being a backdrop to a TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB track, before exploding into a pace ridden tempo akin the likes of AS I LAY DYING. This all precedes the power metal style vocals that push their head through the canvas around the halfway mark. The track succinctly manages to summarise Metamorphosis in the space of 5 minutes and 57 seconds: some great ideas and technical prowess that eventually become too lost in a sonic whirlwind to remain prominent.

Thankfully the one-two punch of Ruin and Catharsis are more simplistic, effective affairs. With the former having a slithering rock rhythm you can’t help but be enticed by – while the latter blasts out of the gates with SLAYER like ferocity. It’s in these moments where THIRD WAVE could have capitalised and potentially made something special – but Metamorphosis soon becomes a victim of its own ambitious tendencies.

Coming in at 55 minutes, Metamorphosis feels like a slog of a listen at times, which, when you consider how many musical left turns it takes, is a worry. Even on its attempts to add melodic, 80’s metal esque slants on Access Denied and Fill In The Blank the bands momentum has already been halted. For the most part this is down to THIRD WAVE‘s insistence on swapping out vocal leads between Adrian Meuser and guitarist Sebastian Hohmann on almost every opportunity they get. You can’t help but feel like the German’s would have sounded wholeheartedly more cohesive if the vocal mantle was left entirely to Meuser whose rapid nature is often the fuel to the bands fire.

With Metamorphosis, THIRD WAVE seem like a band that have missed an opportunity. There’s the nucleus here of a good band, and if you’re simply looking for a riff fest then you will find a comfortable home here – musicianship is never something the quintet struggle with. While this is commendable in its own right, it’s never enough to solidify a true success of an album, as too regularly the band let themselves down in their naivety of trying to be the most expansive song writers in the room.

Rating: 6/10

Metamorphosis is out now via self-release. 

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