One of the greatest privileges of being a Boolin Tunes writer isn’t just covering my favourite artists and bands, but discovering many of the newer bands that inevitably fly under the radar in today’s crazily-congested music industry. I have elucidated to this in our mid-2021 review: new music discoveries thus far in 2021 haven’t really stuck with me. Sincerely, I am longing for that one band to emerge from shadows unknown with a pulverising, blistering, fresh blend of metal. When I was first introduced to Sleep Waker, a five-piece “dark-metalcore” outfit from Michigan, I felt that perhaps I was audience to a new awakening, something that aligned with what I’ve been searching for from up and coming bands.
For those like myself who are listening to Sleep Waker for the first time, allow me to provide you some background. Sleep Waker was founded in 2016 by drummer and lead-songwriter Frankie Mish and vocalist Hunter Courtright; the band went through several line-up changes before solidifying with guitarists Jake Impellizzeri and Jason Caudill, and Aaron Lutas on bass. Self-releasing their debut EP Lost in Dreams in 2017 and following it up promptly with their first full-length record, Don’t Look at the Moon in 2018 via Stay Sick Recordings, Sleep Waker hit the ground running from the onset of their existence. Now three years on from Don’t Look at the Moon, Sleep Waker return with their sophomore album Alias releasing July 23 on UNFD, one of the most prestigious alternative record labels today. So, is Alias the powerhouse that it needs to be in order to truly stand out amongst the rest? Does it fall flat? Sit back and join me as we explore Alias by Sleep Waker.
With just twelve-seconds of buildup, Sleep Waker crash in with a meteoric, energetic slammer of an intro: the eponymous track, “Alias”. Channeling some undeniable Wage War and I Prevail vibes from the get-go, Sleep Waker are not messing about here — Drop G tuned guitars drive this song through somber alleyways and into busy nocturnal roads flooded with blinding streetlights. The pacing of this song is an emphatic journey that I can happily keep on repeat. Thematically, “Alias” operates as a very appropriate tone-setter for this record. The listener is not to expect bright, uplifting tracks here, but rather deeply personal songs of a murky, solemn nature. Murkiness is certainly present here in many facets, unfortunately including the mix. At least to my ear, the balancing of audio on this song is a little muddy in the guitar and bass department, with a notable lack of note definition. This is not a deal-breaker by any means, but something I felt worth highlighting for any fellow audiophiles out there.
Sleep Waker move promptly onto track two, entitled “Skin”; a familiar listen to those who have followed the band prior to the announcement of Alias. “Skin” sustains the momentum established by the intro track, offering some seriously impressive, impactful and engaging drum work. The aforementioned lead-songwriter and drummer, Frankie Mish, has previously expressed that he was inspired by the films Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner whilst crafting “Skin”. I can seriously appreciate musicians who encapsulate a broader spectrum of creativity in their influences. What I admire most about this track has got to be the hearty dose of Koi No Yokan-era Deftones that is quite clearly evident in the chorus, with vocalist Courtright delivering the gorgeous lines: “When you sleep, do you truly dream?”. About three-quarters of the way into this song, dark 808s are met with haunting ambient guitars, presenting an additional string to Sleep Waker’s shadowy bow. My only criticism of “Skin” would again be down to the mix — the drum cymbals are regrettably drowned out by an over-reliance on the low-end.
“Strangers” is the first track on Alias to feature the demon-summoningly low tuning of Double Drop D, made even more crushing by Impellizzeri and Caudill with the insanely fun riffs and progressions laced throughout this frenzied composition. This song unequivocally wears its Loathe influence on its sleeve, and this is no negative whatsoever. Whilst “Strangers” blends nu-metal and modern metalcore beautifully to ultimately create a stand-out track on this record, it is followed by what I’d argue is a weak move. Alias is by no means a long record, in fact it only just scrapes by at ten songs with a run-time of thirty-one minutes. One pitfall that many bands fall into is chucking an interlude song on their short album to bump it up to nine or ten songs, and Sleep Waker are regrettably guilty of this.
Track four, “Cold Moon”, is a two-minute long interlude heavily reminiscent of Thornhill, yet lacks impact and subsequently feels like little more than filler on an already transient record. Whilst this song has some appreciable ambient synths and generates a gorgeous atmosphere — one that makes me think of an ancient, undiscovered cave system lost in the dark — I feel that Sleep Waker would have benefitted from taking additional time to write a couple of extra tracks to provide this interlude with more purpose. The idea that Sleep Waker were perhaps a little short for content is further lent credence by the fifth song on the record, “Melatonin”, which originally debuted in November 2019. I usually feel like it is a questionable creative choice to put an older single on a newer record, as bands run the risk of juxtaposing musical themes. Whilst Sleep Waker do incredibly well to provide a cohesive listen, adding a song that is over a year-and-a-half old to Alias’ track-list doesn’t make much sense to me. The song itself is incredibly well put-together, with Mish’s drum kicks matching up with the guitars so perfectly, as if the two were tidally locked.
Fortunately, Sleep Waker soon regain composure and come back swinging with track six, “Insomniac”, a hyper-aggressive onslaught lasting just one minute and fifty-two seconds. Despite its short length, this song packs more into it than most of the other tracks on this record and I am absolutely adding this to my personal playlists once released. Staying true to their thematic roots (centring songs around concepts such as sleeplessness, dreaming, etc.), Sleep Waker convey the senseless savagery of restlessness through lyrics such as: “A glimpse of a perfect future / Ripped away by sleep deprivation”. “Insomniac” is further made impactful with deliberately damaging percussion; the drums shine through the mix and successfully bring the entire song together. Seventh song “110 Minutes” follows suit with another foray into the depths of that devilish Double Drop D tuning. Sleep Waker commendably stand on their own with this track — I honestly can’t compare it to much else apart from hearing some Loathe and Kingdom Of Giants elements in the guitar work, and that itself a huge compliment to the band.
Before tackling the eighth, ninth and tenth songs on this record, let’s take a quick breather to process the artwork for the record. After all, an assured sonic identity needs to be matched with striking and suitable visuals. The album title “Alias” is illustrated in a sweeping, sci-fi font across the top in vibrant red, which is met with shades of turquoise, blue and black, producing captivating colourful contrasts to great effect. The centrepiece of the album cover evokes dystopian imagery with a side-on human figure with three cables extending from the back of the head. It is remarkably evident with these purposeful artistic choices that Sleep Waker have sought to garner interest from new fans and discoverers of the band. At least for me, this artwork has really allowed me to understand and appreciate this record further; the boys should be insanely proud of this.
Right, let’s get back into these songs shall we? At number eight on the track-list we have “Serenity”, which unlike the name would indicate, is volatile, high-octane, and much closer to a modern hardcore track than much of what we hear on Alias. This song has so many elements in it that hit the spot for me — the spooky intro, the harmonic guitar sweeps in the verses, the layered aggressive and clean vocals in that ridiculously catchy chorus, the maniacally punchy production. I won’t beat about the bush — “Serenity” may possibly be my favourite song on Alias. Courtright performs standout lyrical moments with a vocal melody that would certainly make Chino Moreno proud of the legacy he has made: “Serenity / Peaceful for the moment / Find beauty in the clarity / From bitter thoughts that follow me”. Following on from “Serenity”, we approach the end of the record with song nine, “Synthetic Veins”.
At least in my interpretation, “Synthetic Veins” is centred around the loss of a relationship and the deteriorative impact on one’s ability to feel truly alive and connected — “Plastic veins trade for living blood / Suffer in sleep never waking to find love / A different human being / Never the same and its all because of you”. Structurally, “Synthetic Veins” is a relatively straightforward with nothing distasteful within by any means, but nothing exactly stellar either. This is a passable and overall enjoyable listen for a track that occupies a tricky spot in the track-list; digital streamers typically clock off towards the end of a record hence why lower streaming figures appear later into albums. Last but certainly not least, Sleep Waker treat us to the most unique song on the record, “Distance”. Sure to be a fan favourite track from Alias, “Distance” is a celebration of what this band does so well, and where they are likely headed on future releases. Auras of melancholy encircle dark shoegaze melodies, capturing the essence of loss that exudes throughout the record. Lyrically, I feel that this song is likely one of the most personal songs on Alias, with impactful lines such as “You fought this for so long / No one will blame you if you decide to let go”. There is a pain that resonates with such words, expressed through a very emotional vocal performance by Courtright.
Having honed their sonic identity over just five years, Sleep Waker now offer a palette-cleansing mixture of ambient-infused metalcore, subterranean beatdown passages and seriously driven compositions. What really holds this record back from truly shining and securing a spot in my favourite releases of 2021 would unfortunately be the issues I have highlighted with the short run-time, some odd creative choices with adding old songs and some mixing discrepancies. Ultimately, I’m super grateful to have reviewed this record — with so much new music coming out it can be hard to keep up and for my first time experiencing Sleep Waker, I am left feeling pretty satisfied. If Sleep Waker capitalise on the momentum that Alias will surely generate, I genuinely see these boys becoming a band to keep a very, very close eye on when they next drop new material.
Alias is available via UNFD this Friday, 23 July 2021, and you can pre-order the album here. For all things Sleep Waker, metal and music in general, keep it locked on Boolin Tunes.
7.5/10