“You’re the reason why I wept.”
With their 2019 self-titled album, New South Wales metalcore outfit Diamond Construct undeniably carved a niche for themselves into the scene. An exciting blend of djent, electronic, and nu-metalcore, the band presented an album of genuinely intriguing and innovative guitar work, a refreshing take on a subgenre that was finding itself oversaturated. With their experimentation with different influences and styles, they return for Angel Killer Zero, hoping to further establish the sound they’ve crafted.
Initial single “Jynx” brought a familiar, yet renewed take on the Diamond Construct sound. Their relentless aggression thrives on this track, delivering a flurry of manic riffs and an unmistakable groove. Exploding into an explosive, glitchy breakdown, the track features one of the band’s strongest performances to date and an excellent first single.
No one could have prepared me for the utter confusion that second single “Switchblade OST” brought me. I’ll be the first to admit that like many, the band’s standalone single “Hit It Back” wasn’t for me, with its incorporation of hip-hop elements not quite landing personally. “Switchblade OST” aspires to be an answer to the criticism of “Hit It Back”, but it has to be the most misguided clapback I’ve ever heard. Doubling down on the hip-hop influences, vocalist Kynan Groundwater rather arrogantly claims an originality not quite present on the track’s lyrics. Referring to himself as “your emo psycho”, the lyrical themes of the track read like a mediocre modern rap song. Ignoring what the “white boy screamin’ in your face” has to offer, the mix of the track is rather off-putting, intentionally heavy on the compression to create a “blown out speaker” sound. The effect is way overdone, burying the track’s genuinely interesting instrumentation under a wall of sound that is challenging to enjoy. A big swing and a miss, the track falls flat at its intended purpose and is laughably cringeworthy. Early album track “Neon” is a particularly frustrating example of the effect this style has on the album, marring guitarist Braden Groundwater’s efforts with an unpleasant rap-style hook.
It isn’t all a lost cause. Most of the album boasts an impressive enough performance from Groundwater, bringing his usual gritty screams and a mix of floaty cleans into the mix. “Faded” demonstrates a favourable example of this, creating for a rather balanced track that gives room for all its elements to shine in a more vibey direction. Tracks like “Zodiac Memories” and “Delirium” do hit like classic Diamond Construct, putting a focus on its inventive instrumentation to push a strong sound.
The aforementioned mixing choices are unfortunately an issue that plagues this album heavily, pushing the electronics too high in the mix while creating a muddy and overly-intense sound for the guitars. While I could see this being entertaining in doses, its overuse creates for a rather tiring listen, with its constant in-your-face presence feeling excessive. The concept of creating something atypical and unique is definitely present and acknowledged; the execution of it is just horridly bungled. “I Don’t” is a particularly egregious example of this, erupting in a wall of sound that made me question if my earbuds had malfunctioned. This quality alone keeps the album’s wings strapped to the ground.
Album closer “You Want That Scene Shit” unfortunately compounds on most of the issues presented earlier. Combining its exhausting mixing style with rather uninspired rap-influenced lyrics, the track barely goes anywhere before suddenly ending, leaving a robotic voice over a drum machine beat to close the album. A rather anticlimactic end to a messy album, the whole experience is ultimately unsatisfying.
Angel Killer Zero tries its hardest to fashion itself on pushing back boldly at criticism and moving forward confidently with what Diamond Construct wants to do. Unfortunately, I simply do not hear that here with the album’s confusing direction. Moments of genuine innovation do try their best to shine, and they are appreciated, but they are heavily sidelined by the album’s questionable sonic choices. The album is undoubtedly heavy, but much of it lumps together into senseless noise, disorienting and ultimately directionless. Rather than running forward with confidence in its influences, Diamond Construct’s need to prove itself to its critics results in an album that pushes too far in the wrong directions, and its impact is largely for the wrong reasons.
3/10
Angel Killer Zero releases on the 26th of April via Greyscale Records. Pre-order and merch links for the album can be found here.