A tried and tested formula for CLEARxCUT.
After starting out in hardcore committed to the animal cause and Straight Edge values, the band renewed itself and welcomed Gabriel Dubko (Wormrot, ex-Implore) to evolve towards Metalcore. Their message remains intact, and is discovered in 2024 with Age of Grief, their third album, released by Lifeforce Records.
The album kicks off with The Seventh Seal, where vindictiveness adopts motivating patterns with cutting harmonics under the vocalist’s vociferations. Moshparts follow in quick succession, leading into Burial Shroud, which at first glance sounds slightly more melancholic, but which later uses its jerky rhythm to become more energetic. Hardcore roots are more than present, but there’s also a rather melodious finale before Against Leviathan, the next track, presents us with its first rather simple, haunting riffs, which eventually become much more lively and catchy while retaining their harmonics. Next comes Unwritten, where the mood remains gloomy and haunting until the vigorous elements resurface, before the band take to the pits again with Collecting Scars, where mosh fans will be delighted to be able to perform their best two-steps and other moves. The band follows up with Privilege, which once again features aerial elements to start with, but this time ends on a clean guitar, before Putrefaction returns to true fury with a devastating double kick, but also a very jerky approach where only the leads offer a lighter touch. The album draws to a close with the dark soaring Ghosts of the Past, bolstered by a solid rhythm section and the visceral screams of the vocalist, and then with The Eternal Demise, which brings it to a close with heartbreaking sounds, halfway between violence and depression, gradually disappearing into the darkness.
If violence is still the order of the day for CLEARxCUT, the band has changed its method, this time working with gripping melodies, making Age of Grief a rather diversified album that will accompany moshs and calmer passages.
75/100
