Sweet holy jeebus, there’s nothing on the market right now that sounds anything like ITHACA. With their sophomore outing, the London-based quintet take your favorite parts of Metalcore, Doom, and just Heavy music in general, infuse it with an undeniably captivating melodic side, and conjure up one of the most original new Metal records of 2022.
“In The Way” is gnarly, introducing newcomers to the mighty meanderings of ITHACA and the massive range of Djamila Boden Azzouz’s voice as well as the monstrous range of James Lewis, Will Sweet, Dom Moss, and Sam Chetan-Welsh’s musicianship with a sound that’s like Sara Taylor of Youth Code fronting Howard Jones-era Killswitch Engage. “The Future Says Thank You” immediately stands out with this brutal bombast at its’ core comprised of some nasty shreds that Chetan-Welsh and Sweet lay down while Boden Azzouz serves up another diverse vocal array leading into a proper pummeling from Lewis on the title track that bolsters a massive chorus propelling ITHACA’s sound into unearthly levels of excellence and just an unrelenting instrumental overload.
“Camera Eats First” is another shred fest despite Boden Azzouz’s killer croon, “Cremation Party” slams with the vocalist bringing a relentless scream to the party, and “Number Five” features a steady onslaught of Lewis and Dom Moss’ rhythmic raucousness. “You Should Have Gone Back” is a grower and a shower that’s gargantuan and moody building towards this almost transcendent slab of heaviness that gives way to the actually transcendent “Hold, Be Held” which is like nothing else on here as it taps into the heart of that classic song from your favorite ’80’s flick playing over the credits mixed with Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero”.
They Fear Us arrives on July 29th through Hassle Records. Pre-orders are up now and can be found when you click here or on the Bandcamp embed below and for the latest on ITHACA, follow the trail of socials when you head here, here, or here.