“The backs of my eyelids are lit like dancing neon lights.”
Frantic and angry are among the best words to describe Soulkeeper’s sound. The up-and-comers from Minneapolis, Minnesota play a fresh style that blends elements of nu-metalcore, mathcore, and progressive metalcore, crafting a sound that is nuanced in its heaviness. With two EPs under their belts, they look to leave a mark on the scene with their debut full length, Holy Design.
One thing that immediately jumps out from the start is the production; balancing the chaos, it is clear and punchy, giving the aggressive sound of Soulkeeper a chance to shine. They waste no time, with the title track intro launching the listener directly into a flurry of dissonant, harmonic riffs and ferocious screams from frontman Eric Roberts.
Something that sets this release apart from the band’s previous EPs is the use of electronics and samples. Playing to the “cyber metal” aesthetic of the album, the release is interjected with tastefully curated electronics that add to the soundscape, giving it diversity. A digital voice hauntingly declares, “there was no reason for me to stay in the real world any longer. It was only holding me back,” at the end of “Three Parts Disdain”.
The energy of this album is mostly relentless and pounding, only taking a deceptively calm break on “Zero Point”, with its eerie, echoey soundscape pulling you out of the madness, only to catapult you back into the chaos. The emotion of this album is characterised by that vibe of desolation and uneasiness, owing to the highly personal nature of the lyrics.
“Inflorescence” is a standout track, as the line “I read all the books, I took all the pills, spent years being good and found myself still, drowning in debt, buried in bills” explores the unfortunate difficulty of dealing with mental health. The track leans more into the mathcore side of the band, characterized by tempo changes and switch ups throughout the track.
At its runtime of about 25 minutes, the album hardly takes any time to slow down, and the relatively short runtime aids that. Even in that time, it manages to accomplish a lot, packing technical skill both from the musicians and the vocalist that makes the time feel substantial.
As a whole, the quality of Holy Design is comparable to the recent offerings by contemporaries Half Me and Desolate. With its unrelenting approach and raw emotion, the album strikes me as genuine and impactful. Soulkeeper isn’t here to tread lightly, and while it may take a lot from the steady foundation of the genre, the band still manages to produce something unique to them. This is a release that you may need some preparation for, but it is a listen that you will feel if you give it the chance to settle in.
8/10
Holy Design releases May 12th via self-release, and you can pre-order it here.