METZ - Strange Peace (Sub Pop) 2017
8
Those who haven’t tracked METZ closely since their self-titled debut record in 2012 may be surprised by the devil-may-care noisy melodies and challenging experience that Strange Peace is. Strange Peace is creatively vast and bursts with intensity, nothing less than what we expected from METZ, but it’s their impenetrably chaos that shows that they’re digging new grounds. Even when they sound meticulous and precise, they find a way to brutalize and punish the listener with their controlled and exhilarating complexity.
Strange Peace sees the band’s union with producer Steve Albini, something that was just meant to be, and you can tell that they have perfected the fine balance of noise and melody. METZ seem poised to avoid various aesthetic dead-ends and on their third full-length it’s fair to say that you just can’t ignore them anymore.