‘Anchors Down’ is the first release on Believe Revolt, a new alternative label aimed at housing the UK’s best punk, metal and hardcore acts. It is also The Dead Wretched’s debut album. The band, featuring Ben Duffin-Jones, the ex-vocalist of Shaped By Fate, (as well as former members of Boys With X Ray Eyes and Islands in the Sky) are no strangers to the metal scene and this is evident in an accomplished record that speaks of their experiences as musicians amongst other things. It also sees the Welsh quintet incorporate the distinctive British metalcore sound of their previous bands in this new venture.
The album opens in explosive form with ‘Ain’t Through With You.’ Featuring a brutal metal riff and trademark metalcore vocal style, the track is a powerful opening statement and one that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The chorus is reminiscent of a heavier Funeral for a Friend and the emotion of the music is not lost amongst the metal breakdowns and heavy vocals.
The band state “We’ve written tracks about people who break your trust in them, making them realise they can’t always get away with it” and this idea is clearly evident in tracks such as ‘Hadron Collides’ which showcases emotional and defiant lyrics on an angry musical back drop.
‘Anchors’ sees the band channel this theme once again, in a song also written about the perils of addiction. Featuring the memorable refrain “we rode the waves of this ocean, we sailed the seven seas, it was the hardest thing we ever, ever did” the band again vent their frustrations and exorcise some demons. ‘Anchors’ is one of the strongest tracks on the album and is one of the songs that will stay with you after listening to the album.
‘To The End’ (fittingly the last track on the album) offers more of the same and if there is one criticism that can be levelled at the album it is that it is very reliant on the one over-arching theme that draws the songs together. It is a solid concept to build an album around and the music is a great example of the metalcore hybrid genre, but some lyrical diversity would have been welcomed. There’s only so much resentment that can be withstood in one sitting.
Overall, ‘Anchors Down’ is a metalcore record with a lot of heart. It is gutsy, powerful and impressively brutal in equal measures. It’s a must-buy for fans of the genre and for those with a passing interest in metal music in general. Here’s hoping to more releases like this on Believe Revolt. A great record.
3.5/5
‘Anchors Down’ by The Dead Wretched is released on May 7th through Believe Revolt.
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