End, The - album review

METAL

(Relapse)

2006 wasn’t the most exciting for metal. So it’s a relief that The End have come out of nowhere (well, Canada) to restore the faith and push the genre into new forms.
Gone are the tonsil-tearing screams and mathcore chaos of previous releases. Now songs ebb and flow like tides before the tsunami, in a display of dynamics and melody akin to Tool’s masterpiece, Aenima. As the album flows through passages of metal, neo-prog, rock stomp and accoustic introspection, it becomes clear that this is about mood, not madness. And it’s fantastic. Relapse are touting these guys as ‘your new favourite band’. You know what? They’re right.