“These safety nets we fall back on are cancer.”
Nu-metalcore has been causing quite a commotion among the modern metal scene in recent years. The pummeling breakdowns of metalcore, fused with the frantic vocalizations and electronics of early 2000s nu-metal produces a highly moshable sound that has been dominating venues in the British and Australian scenes. Despite their nature as an anonymous, studio-only project, Darknet is a band that fits snugly into this niche subgenre.
Breaking out with their debut Darknet in 2016, their diverse sound consists of aggressive instrumentation and a plethora of vocal styles, seamlessly interwoven with 808 beats and moody clean passages, elements not atypical of the targeted scene. After the further refinement of their sound with a series of follow-up releases, the mysterious act is just about ready to pull back the curtain on their third full-length LP, trashworld, which sees Darknet continue the pursuit of their nu-metalcore formula.
The album’s opener, “scanner” wastes no time in propelling the listener into a familiar sonic assault. The metalcore aspects of their sound remain in the foreground, and aside from some sparse electronics that decorate the track like sprinkles on a cake, the band’s experimental side is little more than a backseat driver. “scanner” is certainly not atypical of the genre in which Darknet find themselves, and as a whole, is remarkably unimpressive. As this is only the first offering, the anonymous act has plenty of time to make creative amends.
Unfortunately, this does not come sooner than later, as “gen_throwaway” comes across rather bland and uninspired in contrast to the wider genre. The entire track hinges on two or three riffs that are very similar in nature, which can make the guitars here a dull experience. The initial rap verse feels like a very on-the-nose attempt at capturing the Limp Bizkit aesthetic of the late 90s, with its below-bar lyricism and a delivery that feels like the opening theme of a sit-com from the same period.
“idgaf” is similar in nature, only the lyricism finally hits rock bottom here. The titular phrase “I don’t give a fuck” is repeated a dozen times, while “I pledge not to care about anything” is repeated ten or more times. One could argue this was intentional, as the spoken-word section tells us “When it’s always on repeat, it loses its meaning,” however, I can’t bring myself to grant style points here, as “idgaf” ends up being the musical equivalent of a brick wall. Darknet really wants you to understand that repetition leads to monotony, and this couldn’t be more apparent given the state of this track.
Intermittent cuts such as the title track and “3am vibe” shake things up at least a little, with the inclusion of the aforementioned moody, lo-fi elements that have been present in Darknet’s prior material. “bff” harbours a fun bass line and some substantive guitar in its mid section, and “no_high” maintains enough heaviness to allow for at least a sliver of auditory entertainment. “phosphene” is Darknet’s take on a pseudo-industrial metal sort of sound, and it’s executed half-decently. The spoken-word delivery is marginally improved, and the breakdown at the track’s halfway point feels as if it took notes from the Currents or Invent Animate handbook. Overall, the climax of trashworld provides more in the way of substance than its introductory segments, even if the difference in quality is only marginal.
Any semblance of momentum gained from this, however, is quickly ground to a halt as we enter the concluding phase of trashworld. Darknet seemingly has no desire to end things on a memorable note, as album closer “stranded” proves fairly unremarkable. The traces of experimentation present in previously discussed tracks such as “phosphene” and the title track are backseated, and the result is not dissimilar to opener “scanner”, where all that remains is a painfully generic and uninspired listen. These songs may serve a purpose in a live setting, but this is not liable to occur given the anonymous nature of the project.
trashworld, as a collective listen, is inoffensive. It’s not as if Darknet is creatively bankrupt; rather, the bulk of their creativity is confined to small sections or interludes, and the main cuts are left as boring meat and potatoes metalcore tracks with rather poor lyricism to boot. Pass on this one, though I wouldn’t completely write Darknet off just yet. There is potential here, and with enough refinement to their songwriting and a meticulous re-evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses, the anonymous act’s next full album release could take the world by surprise.
5/10
trashworld is out this Friday, via Kontrolla Music Group, and can be pre-ordered here.