If you were to make a Venn diagram of metalcore and mainstream pop, at the point where they meet would sit Issues, a metalcore band merging the two disparate worlds together to create a sort of "new nu-metal." Mixing R&B's rhythmic sensibility with crushing breakdowns, songs like "Mad at Myself" feel like a mosh pit broke out in the middle of an R. Kelly jam. A combination like this can be a little hard to wrap your head around, but a few tracks into their self-titled album, the listener is immersed enough in their crazy experiment that things start to make sense (at least as much sense as they're likely to). While hearing metal with record scratching is likely to cause flashbacks for veterans of the '90s nu-metal explosion, Issues put enough of their own spin on things to feel like something new, which feels like a praiseworthy accomplishment in an increasingly homogenous genre. ~ Gregory Heaney
Rovi
ウォウ・イズ・ミーの脱退メンバーを中心とするアトランタのバンドで、コンピ『PunkGoes Pop 5』への参加や2013年のEPがロングセラーを記録したことで注目を浴びる6人組。このファースト・フル・アルバムではブレイクダウンやスクラッチを活用しながら、ジェントにダブステップにと流行りモノを貪欲に挿み込み、テクニカルかつエネルギッシュなメタルコアを作り上げている。名門ライズを背負って立つ大型新人だ!
bounce (C)清水章雅
タワーレコード(vol.365(2014年3月25日発行号)掲載)