ALBUM REVIEW: The Way It Ends – Currents

With the current influx of modern metalcore bands permeating the scene, simply keeping up pace with the pack would be an achievement in itself. In their short time they’ve spent waiting in the wings though, CURRENTS have had an appetite for something far more grandiose than merely matching the strides of their contemporaries. If 2017’s The Place I Feel Safest was a firm indication of the bands power at hand, then follow up EP I Let The Devil In was an outright shot across the bow: this quintet weren’t just here to take part.

Sophomore record (under current lineup) The Way It Ends not only reinforces the band’s sonic growth, it puts them at the spearhead of the genre. Similar to POLARIS‘ opus The Death Of Me earlier this year: The Way It Ends sticks to metalcore conventions, and wins hearts in its quality of songwriting as opposed to bold steps into the unknown. Ironically though, this is still uncharted territory for CURRENTS – the first time in their career there’s a groundswell of eyes on their next move.

Familiarity strikes on The Way It Ends early on with the likes of A Flag To Wave and Poverty Of Self – a duo that aptly accentuate CURRENTS pre-existing etiquette. Low tuned, djent-esque riffs circle vocalist Brian Wille‘s cries of social disdain, such as the latter’s pre-breakdown call of “the classes separate watching as the guillotine swings” that serves as a precursor to guitarists Chris Wiseman and Ryan Castaldi‘s mid tempo battering: this is modern metalcore 101.

Where the record moves up a gear though is in its self acknowledgement of the progressive steps that have been made in the past two years, from Wille especially. His melodic chimes take centre stage on the graceful Better Days and Split, he almost whispers the teasing opening verse of Kill The Ache before it hits carnage, and album show stealer How I Fall Apart even features him setting the stage for a spine bending solo from Wiseman: CURRENTS have come a long way.

Sure, this isn’t new ground for metalcore, but hearing the Connecticut five piece go all in on the concept of anthem and harmony really is a heart warmer. Though Wille has always toyed with melody, and you can make an argument that tracks like My Disguise on I Let The Devil In were a clear signal of what the band were planning: to witness it all come together in the manner that it does here adds tenfold to The Way It Ends overall appeal.

You could possibly claim that maybe the most exciting element of The Way It Ends is that it still leaves room for improvement. And when you consider the seismic leaps CURRENTS have made in the last two years alone – that’s a stimulating thought. At a time where there seems to be a new emerging modern metalcore band around every corner, CURRENTS have just gone a long way to making a lot of them feel somewhat irrelevant – because they’ll have some job on their hands trying to match this record.

Rating: 8/10

The Way It Ends is set for release on June 5th via SharpTone Records.

Like CURRENTS on Facebook.