“Chains of my despair drag the weight through my lungs.”
Since I finally gave them a shot a couple of years back, southern-metalcore newcomers Greyhaven have been a band that have fairly consistently stuck in my mind. Their major-label debut full-length, Empty Black, was a record that, while not perfect as a cohesive unit, contained a fair few of my favourite metalcore tracks I’d heard in some time when I first stuck it on, with cuts like “Sweet Machine“, “Echo and Dust” and “White Lighters” continuing to live rent free in my mind to this day. It was only so much, though, and I, like many others, waited with bated breath to see what Greyhaven did next. A long, winding four years on, and here we are with THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD. The question is, after so much time, can Greyhaven capture and expand upon the magic of their major-label debut with their long-awaited new record?
From the moment THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD starts, it’s apparent that Greyhaven aren’t fucking about. Feeling like a wonderfully southern-tinged take on a chaotic, Dillinger Escape Plan-esque tune, “IN A ROOM WHERE EVERYTHING DIES” is certainly a tone setter. Don’t let lead single and following track “ALL CANDY” fool you, either – a brief moment of melodic respite, to be sure, but that respite is brief as can be. Soon, the record drops back into its chaotic core sound with “A PAINFUL AND NECESSARY ACTION”, and maintains that energy for much of its runtime. Fans allured and dissuaded by that lead single alike will surely be surprised with just how crushing this album can be, too, and that much will be apparent from just these opening tracks, blinding the listener with a flurry of dissonance and percussive chaos.
There are a handful of tunes on THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD that hearken back to the more melodic points across the band’s major-label debut, Empty Black, all those years ago back. Mid-album cut “MORE AND MORE HANDS”, as well as later cut “FED TO THE LIGHTS” impress with the more emotive and melodic angle on their sound being present in full force here. The latter of the two tracks feels fairly reminiscent of the group’s aforementioned hit tracks “White Lighters” or “Echo and Dust”, which, as discussed, is far from an insult, being some of my favourite core-adjacent tracks of the 2010s. Closer “ORNAMENTS FROM THE WELL” further takes the album to the finish line with grace, with the most subdued and downright gorgeous track across the entire record. Be the melodicism showcased on these tracks as it may, however, make no mistake that this is a collection of what is far and away Greyhaven‘s heaviest material to date.
As mentioned, there is a clear influence from The Dillinger Escape Plan across many of the cuts on THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD, and that influence commandeers much of the album’s sound. The band seem to have fully leaned into their melodic mathcore sound here, and the influence from bands like Dillinger and Every Time I Die are undeniable – the latter of which was already apparent on the band’s major-label debut. This is no bad thing, however. I feel this level of keenly melodic chaos is something that’s been sorely missing from the metal world since Dillinger’s disbandment back in 2017, and further that no band has quite captured that energy, on their own terms no less, than Greyhaven. This is no better exemplified than in tracks like “FOREIGN ANCHOR” and “THE QUIET SHAKES”, which absolutely nail the contrast of the ballistic energy alongside unabashed melodicism, with some incredibly strong choruses amongst all of the angular riffs and dissonance. Through all of this, too, the album seems intent on never letting up on the energy, with some of the more melodic moments within these tracks still featuring some ridiculously riffy and mind-melting instrumental work, giving each and every moment across many of the tracks on this album a sense of true weight, even in those moments detached from the wall-of-sound chaos found so frequently here.
If I were to present an issue with THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD, I would argue the album’s runtime left me wanting a tad more. At just 10 tracks and 34 minutes, it’s certainly a concise and densely-packed listen, though after almost four full years since Empty Black I, admittedly, hoped for a tad more. That said, this doesn’t so much take away from the experience as it would have expanded upon it if there was a tad more content to dig into here. Further, as much as the melodicism on display here is nothing short of stellar and tasteful, I do feel that it harbors less in the way of a few of the truly infectious tracks that Empty Black had, namely and pertinently something like “Sweet Machine”. With all that said, however, these are minor what ifs and relative nitpicks in a record with this concise and strong a tracklist, and the moments of pure melodicism here are still something to behold.
With THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD, Greyhaven gracefully avoid any notion of a follow-up slump with a tight, concise package of heavy bangers. While the album’s relative short length certainly left me wanting more, and perhaps another “ALL CANDY”-adjacent track would’ve perhaps been appreciated amongst all the obliterating violence, I can’t deny just how strong of a package this is in almost every way. Greyhaven continue to prove here that they should be one of the biggest and most venerated voices in all of metal, and I feel that if there is any justice in the world, THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD will see the Kentucky unit further break into the collective cultural consciousness. Blinding mathcore fury, juxtaposed masterfully by some of the most infectious melodicism in all of metal make (and have made) Greyhaven one to watch, as it’s only a matter of time until they surely take over the world.
9/10
THIS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD will be available next Friday, April 15th, via Equal Vision/Rude Records, and you can pre-order the record here.