ALBUM REVIEW: They Fear Us – Ithaca
In the current wave of vital, enthralling and meaningful UK metal bands, few have stood out quite the way ITHACA has. Their debut full-length The Language Of Injury was a manifesto of chaos and uprising, and in the years since they have remained one of the most entertaining and outspoken voices on the scene, speaking up on issues of toxic patriarchy, diversity and body shaming. Now they harness that anger and energy into They Fear Us, an album about discovering inner power, strength, revenge and retribution for all who have felt marginalised and downtrodden.
Opening with In The Way, their second single from this record, fans will instantly recognise ITHACA’s trademark venomous bite and Djamila Boden Azzouz’s formidable roars, but they’ll also be quick to notice a new facet to their sound – clean vocals. It’s something that has only lightly been explored in their back catalogue (for about 30 seconds of Gilt from their previous record) but on They Fear Us they have been honed and refined to add a whole new stunning dynamic to their sound.
This is largely down to the fact that the band have approached They Fear Us as a collective effort. This time around, they have taken inspiration from the likes of TYLER THE CREATOR who ‘curates’ albums by bringing together widespread talent in order to push the musical boundaries as far as possible. In addition to the four features on the record – one of which we will come onto later – there are samples of a priest leading a Ganga Aarti ceremony next to the Ganges in India; there’s an old school Yamaha P90X synth which was a staple of late-Millennium power ballads; and of course the core members have all elevated their output, from the dual guitar freneticism of Sam Chetan-Walsh and Will Sweet, to the chugging, carrying bass of Dom Moss and the relentless shelling of James Lewis’ drums. The collective effort goes so far beyond what we have heard from ITHACA up to this point and has created a far more versatile and textured release for it.
Of course the white hot intensity and untamed brutality still exists on almost every song of the record – Cremation Party stands out as an absolute runaway train of blunt force trauma; The Future Says Thank You is a meaningful anthem that is still set to ignite mosh pits wherever it is performed; and that “Bow before your blood” pit call on the title track remains one of the year’s most spine-tingling moments. And while an argument can be made that this is not as heavy as previous outings, the counterpoint to consider is that while the heaviness is used more sparingly, it is deployed in a much more effective way that means every breakdown, and every one of Chetan-Walsh’s panic chords is like taking a critical hit from Mjolnir directly to the dome.
But it is the more delicate, considered phases that comfortably set They Fear Us out as ITHACA’s best work to date. Boden Azzouz has put in a phenomenal shift here to become a more flexible and captivating frontwoman and tracks like the ROLO TOMASSI-esque Fluorescent are all the more affecting as a result. Even as the drums pound and the guitars squeal, her sung verses and breathy breaks signal a major new age for the band. Album closer Hold, Be Held assumes the form of a 90s power ballad and goes right for the heartstrings. The song also features a soulful and gospel-inspired verse from Chetan-Walsh’s close friend Yansé Cooper, who was given free rein under one final cataclysmic outpouring, resulting in a breathtaking signature on a career-defining record for one of modern metal’s brightest sparks.
A phenomenal follow up to an already stellar debut, They Fear Us has solidified ITHACA’s place on the map of breakthrough metal. Expanding in every direction and maintaining everything that made them such a tantalising prospect, the question will soon turn to how they can continue this trajectory. For now though, enjoy this record, because there aren’t many of this calibre, even in a year as stacked as 2022.
Rating: 9/10
They Fear Us is set for release on July 29th via Hassle Records.
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