“Call it what you like, I’ll call it what it is.”
When it comes to modern metalcore, many of the bands that have been around for more than ten years or so have, more often than not, seen themselves presented with a dilemma. While they may have seen success with a focus on writing heavier material, modern listeners seem more interested in hearing songs that amount to ‘pop music with heavy guitars’ and the occasional breakdown. This forced many of the legacy bands that have been around for a while to throw caution to the wind and introduce many extraneous elements to their sound and risk watering down what made them appealing in the first place.
This dilemma is something Varials have experienced firsthand. Starting in 2013, the band saw success with a form of raw metalcore. They focused on songs filled with raw beatdown heaviness and an ethereal atmosphere that made albums such as 2017’s Pain Again and 2019’s In Darkness resonate with their listeners. However, due to their vocalist leaving in 2020 and the genre’s shift towards octanecore, the band would regroup with 2022s Scars For You to Remember, which massively watered down their sound with uninteresting electronic elements and bafflingly random choruses that saw the band lose a lot of their initial appeal. Luckily, however, the band returns today with Syler Conder as their new vocalist and a new album, Where The Light Leaves, that sees them attempting to reclaim their place as one of the most exciting bands in metalcore.
As a whole, Where The Light Leaves sees Varials striping out all the superfluous elements introduced on Scars For You To Remember – overly loud electronics that distracted the listeners experience, and the odd focus on adding choruses that did nothing but make otherwise acceptable songs watered down. Instead, they focus on returning to the chilling mood and power that made their prior albums worthwhile. The production is absolutely eye-watering – Josh Schroeder’s work for Varials here will steal your breath in ways like never before.
Where The Light Leaves gives its listener many reasons to find it compelling and enjoyable. One of the biggest reasons for this is how much atmosphere the songs on the album have. A pure example of this is the opener “Where The Light Leaves”, starting with some industrial noise and static, setting a rather mysterious and engaging aura. They quickly switch into a very chunky breakdown that continues throughout its sub-two minute runtime, resulting in an exciting opener that sets up massive momentum for the rest of the album. Luckily, the succeeding track “No Lie Untouched” keeps up said momentum by beginning on a very speedy set of riffs. Between the aforementioned speed, contemplative synthwork, and the occasional punctuation of crushing breakdowns, the album has no intention of letting the listener walk away unsatisfied. Even the more melodic tracks on the album, such as “Romance II”, feature engaging synths that enhance the riffs to create a curiously exciting mood.
Another major selling point is just how energetic and heavy the album is as a whole. While the previous album Scars For You to Remember did have some intensity, it lacked a lot of the raw heaviness of their landmark record In Darkness. Where The Light Leaves is a return to form, and one of most exciting examples of this renewed focus on bludgeoning heaviness is the song “Silent Demise”. It almost feels like a successor to their song “South Of One” at times, filled with plenty of speedy riffs and massive chugs that not only remain exciting throughout the song, but also serve to make the massive breakdown at the end even more that it is on its own. Even the album’s most melodic song, “The Hurt Chamber”, has a very chunky and heavy breakdown that feels organic, and allows the emotion to hit even harder than the listener might think it would.
Where The Light Leaves finds Varials back on strong footing once again. This is one of those cases where returning to the sound of their most coveted records has worked absolute wonders, meaning one can put their whole weight behind the album. In Darkness will continue to reign as their classic, and this new album comes in a close second, only failing to match the technical riff writing and absolute continuum of an experience that came before it. Ultimately, modern metal needs albums and artists like this so much more than it needs yet another pop-drenched, arena-ready sound. If Where The Light Leaves is an indication of the band’s current headspace, then we will no doubt see Varials return to the top of the metalcore crowd.
9/10
Where The Light Leaves is out on the 27th February through Fearless Records and can be pre-ordered here.