Contortion are finally ready to unveil their new album.
Ten years after their last EP, Brian Stone (guitar/vocals, ex-Nervochaos), Andy « The Kid » Serrato (guitar), Jason Engols (drums) and Drew Petropoulos (bass) unveil The Common Thread.
The band invite Christie Smirl to join them on Incanto, a mystical and mysterious introduction where vocals mingle with a few occult notes that ignite on For Want Of A Nail and its jerky rhythm. Codi Deaton accompanies them in their surge of modern rage with an assertive Old School mix that brutally mixes aggressive influences, leading us to the devastating I Am No One, where Dan Palmer and Travis Neil join the musicians to develop their powerful sound. A few leads pierce the block of groovy riffs with vindictive Hardcore roots, which are adorned with explosive patterns before developing more Thrash-oriented sounds on Idiot Box, while skilfully placing a few points of unhealthy dissonance. Some heavier passages are also provided to reinforce the composition before meeting Brian Sheerin (Mower) and Dallas Coyle (ex-God Forbid) on Anti Virus, a track with a calmer chorus but just as catchy as its unleashed rhythm. The two voices take it in turns to maintain the raw energy between the different leads, then it’s with Guttersnipe that the screaming harmonics assault us, all the while benefiting from an extremely effective and energetic palm-mute-packed base. Riley McShane (Continuum, ex-Allegaeon, ex-Pathology), Matt Wannamaker (Mower) and Belisario Dimuzio (Cattle Decapitation) lend a hand to the quartet on Failure’s Not an Option, which takes advantage of the opportunity to develop a more complex approach while alternating between violence and calmer elements thanks to the vocalist, then it’s with a different approach that the band attacks Evolve and its devastating groove. They then call on Christian Machado (Lions at the Gate, ex-Ill Nino), Marcelo Barbosa (Angra, ex-Almah) and Henry Sanchez (Brujeria, Sangre) on Numbers, a composition also far removed from their usual base, which retains the touches of rage before joining the crazy guitars of No Destination, an as catchy as heady track. The album comes to a close with Among the Stars, the last track on which oriental influences resurface to welcome Heidi Shepherd (Butcher Babies), awakening the Metalcore influences thanks to the calmer clean voice.
Contortion‘s silence comes to an end with The Common Thread, a well-paced album that doesn’t hesitate to appropriate violence and pour it out in waves. The various guests give each track its own personality, and I can safely say that some of them will be formidable live!
75/100