Trying again at EPEX’s discography, I’ve hardly ever clicked with their music. They pinball between ultra-bright and ultra-aggressive sounds, making it tough to get a foothold on their idea. New single Full Metallic Jacket is a whole 180 from this spring’s buoyant Sunshower, stuffed to the brim with distorted guitar and combative chants.

I’m largely on board with this sound. When you’re going to embrace Okay-pop’s so-called “noise music,” you may as properly go full-bore. I like most of Full Metallic Jacket‘s soundscape, from the thundering percussion to the crunchy guitar to the horror present synth. The refrain has an industrial drive, hitting arduous. It’s a sonic setting constructed for a a lot stronger track.

He’s the place the issue lies. The precise track positioned over this cool manufacturing is threadbare and boring. We’ve heard this robust man shout rap time and again from Okay-pop’s boy teams. It’s misplaced all chunk. And whereas the primary half of the refrain has a satisfying rhythm, the second half employs the worst form of canned chanting. How is that — regardless of the group — the sound of those chants is all the time equivalent? It have to be how they pull up the ends of every line, pitching the notes too excessive. It’s whiny reasonably than rugged, making the track really feel performative as a substitute of genuine.

Once more, this isn’t an EPEX drawback. I might rattle off a dozen different teams who’ve recorded on this model with the very same impact. It’s a disgrace, as a result of Full Metallic Jacket concludes with a compelling guitar solo and double-time propulsion. Possibly the instrumental model can be extra satisfying?

Grade: C+