There’s an old saying that’s a favorite of mine: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. For those not versed in idioms, it basically means just leave something the way it is if it works. This saying can be applied to music as well, and there are some bands I’ve written about here that could have taken a lesson from this. There’s another couple of bands in more recent years that could definitely take a lesson from this as well: Irreversible Mechanism and Gaerea. Irreversible Mechanism went from being pretty fantastic progressive techdeath to, well, whatever the hell Graviant was: some bastardized alt/prog/post thing. Gaerea haven’t done quite the 180, as black metal is still in their core DNA, but for whatever reason, despite the wonderful Coma, Gaerea have decided to embrace the sounds of metalcore for their new album Loss, and as a long time Gaerea fan – since Unsettling Whispers – I am nothing but incredibly disappointed in this turn of events.
Now, saying a band has “gone metalcore” is a bit of a meme at this point, but when I say Gaerea has embraced metalcore, I don’t mean they’ve embraced the mathy chaos of The Dillinger Escape Plan, or the pissed off energy of Deadguy, no that would be much more preferable than the sounds they’ve adopted. When I say that Gaerea has gone metalcore, they’ve adopted the sounds of Sleep Token, Bring Me the Horizon, and a little bit of Being As An Ocean. Aside from this poppier sound, they’ve also weirdly adopted sounds of mid-period Soilwork and closer to modern In Flames. Clearly, accessibility was what they were looking for when it came to penning Loss, but at what cost, exactly? Loss may earn them new fans who are less interested in extreme metal, but so many of their fans who have enjoyed them from Unsettling Whispers through Coma, like myself, will be turned off entirely from Loss and will be left scratching their heads in a mix of confusion and frustration.
Is there still any black metal in Loss? A shred of their original DNA still remains true to the emotionally-charged blackened fury that was once their unique sonic palette, most notably in the blasts in “Hellbound” and “Uncontrolled.” “Hellbound” is the third track, however, and you must first get through “Luminary”, which is where the Soilwork influences shine, and “Submerged”, which is the first true taste of the stench of poppy metalcore that permeates Loss. It’s the back half of the album that reeks the most, though.
Starting on “Phoenix,” Loss truly embraces the schlocky lyrics that ruin this record. Rather than embracing the melancholy through charged bursts of aggression which is part of what made all four previous albums so great, Loss decides to embody this spirit of triumphant angst that is more suited to softer stuff, much like Sleep Token without the horny nature or Memphis May Fire and Bury Tomorrow. This level of cringe is different from the normal black metal lyrical nonsense of Satanism and edgy occultic ritualism, but goddamnit I don’t care for this pseudo-motivational derivative nonsense when I want to listen to extreme music. I want over the top edge or at least personal, melancholic lyrics to appease the sad bitch in me. I want the cringe of Satanism and ritualism. And that’s not even getting to the worst of what Loss has to offer.
“Cyclone” brings a new level of bad to what Gaerea play. Guilherme Henriques, the new vocalist after original frontman Ruben Freitas’ departure, is awful at singing, and not only “Cyclone” but also the nearly eight minute long closer “Stardust” exemplify this. These two songs are easily the worst things Gaerea have ever penned, and again when listening I find myself scratching my head in frustration and confusion as to what exactly possessed them to write this tripe. Was it a desire to appeal to a wider audience? Gaerea have already been one of the larger black metal bands ever since they became more well known with Limbo. It boggles the mind how they went from one of the most forward-thinking bands in the underground to some garbage that Loudwire or Revolver would hype up as “the next big thing”. Easily the most pointless track on Loss is “LBRNTH”, though, which is a pseudo-interlude that doesn’t add anything to the table aside from a guest vocalist over gently pulsing synth and light drum work, adding to the unsettling levels of Sleep Token influence.
I am very conflicted here as a longtime Gaerea fan. What made this band so beloved to me is now utterly gone, and what remains is this watered-down sappy angst that more appeals to the lowest common denominator of metal fan that finds joy in Spiritbox or whatever flavor of the month nonsense the major outlets are peddling as the next big thing. I can only hope with what is most likely a large amount of naivety that Gaerea will realize that what made them so special isn’t there anymore and make something more like Mirage again at the very least, but I suspect Ruben leaving and Guilherme taking over the helm allowed the band to venture down this path. I’m sure a large audience will enjoy Loss, but as for me I’m going to adopt the headcanon that Gaerea disbanded after Coma so as not to taint the legacy of such an amazing band. Loss leaves me at a loss, and never before have I been so disgusted with how a band has turned out, and it just hurts more with how much I loved them.
