Album review by Sara Rose
Seeing While She Sleeps at Good Things Festival in Australia in December 2023 was already a personal highlight, but the upcoming release of the new album Self Hell is even more exciting.
Sean Long (guitarist) has said that “The name of the album is the foundation of how we view ourselves and the world” and I agree with this statement. There are a range of different influences on this album, noticeably for me was The Prodigy and Gorillaz.
Opening with the cinematic introduction ‘Peace of Mind’. It just feels grand and like something big is coming, which is exactly what will happen the more you list to Self Hell. I can imagine this intro playing live before a curtain drops and the band unleashes on the audience.
‘Leave Me Alone’ immediately draws you in with the opening guitar riff, with a mixture of singing and rap creates an atmosphere that begins to explain this albums journey. The lyrics “Eternity is nothing but a hole in the ground” is so expressive as are the other lyrics on this track, such as “This fear is trying to tell me something I already know”. There is the addition of some funky synth sounds on this track which breaks up the depth of the lyrics and adds some lightheartedness.
The next song ‘Rainbows’ immediately sounds like While She Sleeps to me and had me nodding my head along right away. The lyrics “Lets go to the void, we’re chasing rainbows” are a really good contrast of what Self Hell speaks on overall. Around the two minute mark is where this track gets heavier and made me even more excited to keep listening.
‘Self Hell’ has already been released as a single, so you may have heard this song as a teaser to the rest of Self Hell. But if you haven’t yet, this one will get you up and moving around your house because that is all I wanted to do while typing this review. You can just feel the vibe of this will be amazing to hear live and get a crowd excited. The chorus is so catchy but upon listening more intently, lyrically the verses capture the heart of what the album is conveying. Funny enough there is a spoken lyric that says “Now I wish I could say things differently, to set me apart from other lyricists”. It’s a genius line if you think about it being self deprecating and the title of the song and album alike.
‘Down’ (featuring Alex Malevolence) is the heaviest track on the album (in my opinion) and starts this way from the outset and continues all the way through. The addition of Alex’s vocals give this song the extra energy and dimension it deserves, which adds to the overall versatility of the album.
Closing track ‘Radical Hatred Radical Love’ beautifully rounds out Self Hell and ends on what feels like the right note for this album. The undertones are peaceful but is still strongly written to make the listener feel and reflect.
Other tracks include:
- ‘Wildfire’
- ‘No Feeling Is Final’ (featuring Aether)
- ‘Dopesick’ (featuring Fin Power)
- ‘To The Flowers’
- ‘Out of the Blue’
- ‘Enemy Mentality’
A small detail but something I noticed was that several songs towards the beginning of the album end with the sound of pouring rain. A nice little bit of imagery thrown in there for those paying extra attention.
The overall tone of Self Hell is reflecting on the journey and suffering we all go through, which is accurately showcased in each song on the album. The mix of While She Sleep’s amazing attitude and sound mixed with new additions such as vintage synths really opens this album into a different sound for the band. It is impressive when a band can continue making new music, whilst keeping fans on their toes about what that will sound like and it resulting in another fantastic metalcore album. This one is great for fans of bands such as Malevolence, Polaris, Bring Me The Horizon and Architects.
Whether you’re just into overall sound or love lyrics like me, Self Hell is an amazing mix of both, which can keep fans captured throughout listening. Personally, I’m looking forward to looking up all the lyrics upon the albums release, so I can connect with Self Hell even more, particularly because each band member played a bigger role lyrically on Self Hell than previous albums.
Self Hell is available Friday 29 March 2024 via Spinefarm Records and this is a release you are going to want to indulge in!
