Pupil Slicer, Heriot, Vein.fm, Knocked Loose and Tallah have all begun to make their mark through sheer pulverization and the most mosh worthy beatdowns to emerge in some time, and now it’s time to welcome Michigan’s Wounded Touch to the fold. The musical statement they make on their debut record AMERICANANXIETY is nothing short of a brass knuckled punch to the face and a scalpel to the throat in the absolute best way; the way all those aforementioned bands before have done the same. This is a kick in the teeth record that takes no prisoners and does it in a style, especially vocally, all its own.
Does AMERICANANXIETY crush the listener in its bleeding fist from start to finish? It absolutely does, without question. Vocalist Nick Holland’s blood curdling shriek is almost disarming on opening track “On Serrated Heartstrings,” but as the track and record progresses, his unique style fits like a glove with the claustrophobic and sledgehammer riffs the band pounds out on song after song. The production definitely focuses on the low end, so what little leads there are get lost in the suffocating piledriver rhythm and bass, but damn if every second of this record doesn’t spur the urge to move and throw down.
Any track could be picked and deliver a hardcore beatdown full of scissor cutting, nail ripping, eye gouging heaviness, but tracks like “Excerpts From a Violent Thesis,” “Americananxiety,” “Translating Threats in Morse Code,” and “A Prayer’s Unwanted Answer” are prime cuts of raw, bloody meat to digest. The band delivers those slamming riffs full of drum fills that sounds like a human arm has been caught in the gears of a machine while the bones are slowly snapping. Glitching, shrieking electronic textures further set a nightmarish mood (big thanks to Code Orange for setting the precedent there) and on top of all of this, the band delivers some perfect movie samples to drench the mood of this album in fear, dread, and abject despair. Just listen to the Killing Them Softly sample at the end of the title track and try not to get goosebumps.
The majority of these tracks are short, sharp shocks, which are perfect for what this band is trying to accomplish and very few tracks overstay their welcome, the exceptions being the instrumental interlude “Routes of Transmission” and closer “The Last Night of Autumn (Refrain),” whose clean vocal opening feels slightly out of place on the record and breaks up the tension just a bit. But seriously, to paraphrase the great Cliff Burnstein on Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster “There’s no letup.”
The excitement at witnessing a band deliver so much heaviness and unabashed vitriol, though certainly a more commonly occurring feeling thanks to some of the aforementioned bands, never truly gets old, and this record will deliver that in spades. The mosh-readiness of this band and this record right out of the gate should put them on notice across the scene, and such a strong debut only creates salivation for the potential this band has in front of them. The hype for this band will be coming down the pipeline, and expect to see them on bills with some of those previously mentioned artists very, very soon. Welcome to the club boys, you’ll fit right in.