Badged as progressive metal, a few minutes into “A Bleak Scenario”, the opening track on Mental Truancy and you’ll be wondering exactly what you’ve got into. Rather like entering a cul-de-sac on a rough housing estate, you’ll be wondering what you’ll have to do to get out safely. Such is the careering genre transferring that occurs within the first five minutes, it’s evident that Mindless Hope focus on challenging time signatures, sharp blasts of angular riffage and a desperate hope that the band will find a direction.
Originally released in September 2022, this review is prompted by the arrival of the physical version of the record. And Mindless Hope have crammed a lot into this album. With a running time of 79 minutes, the songs are a mix of sprawling workouts, with vocalist Mark David ranging between frustrated hardcore singer and more nu-metal hero. Weaved into the mix are harsh vocals, jagged splits, unorthodox time changes and a general uncomfortable style that forces the listener to focus. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that fluctuates throughout, the styles veering like a rudderless boat crashing through a harbour with no change of stopping.
It’s on track two, “F.Y.I” that things immediately start to change from progressive in the literal sense to a more rampant, chaotic, and explosive position. Harsh vocals, awkward and unusual time changes that make you look up, along with driving blast beats that melt away into more alternative styles – it’s all here in one of the most difficult and provoking records of 2023. There’s a vibrancy to songs like “Paradigm” and “Infinite Blue” which provide a different style to the preceding songs, albeit with further unorthodox style. In fact, that’s the main way that Mental Truancy differs from most albums – the breadth of formats, soundscapes and atmospheric crafting is simply huge.
From crushing deathcore blasts, Djent passages and melancholic moments, it’s the elongated workout of 17-minute central pillar “Eugenics”, a truly colossal piece of work, which dominates this album. it’s music that challenges and confuses, provokes, and delivers in equal measure. It jars and jolts the senses from start to finish.
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Mindless Hope’s message throughout this intensely different album is that everyone goes through stuff, we all experience things which challenge, but we all need to have empathy to appreciate each other’s individual experiences. It’s a worthy ethos.
If there is one criticism to throw in here, it’s the length of the album. At close to 80 minutes, there were times when my attention wandered. With all the mixing, mastering and production completed by guitarist Matt Grosse, drummer Travis Ebner and David, Mental Truancy is an album that is unlikely to get huge amounts of attention. It’s not for everyone, but should you decide to invest, it promises to be an interesting journey.
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Mental Truancy is out on January 17th
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