Is it possible for a record to have back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back bangers on a release? If you’re The Amity Affliction and releasing your 9th record then that’s exactly the case. Even the opening “Vida Nueva” has aura… and that’s barely a minute and a half instrumental vibe setter (Same goes for “Beso De La Muerte” further in). In other words, get ready for a trip!
We’re latecomers to The Amity Affliction party, having only recently gotten into them and consuming EVERYTHING that’s come before in a relatively short time, but we love what we’ve heard (“I See Dead People” is an absolute fave) and would willingly devour anything produced by them going forward. If you’re an “Old School” fan, though, House Of Cards still has something for you as well with all the visceral intensity found on earlier albums present but refined. Maybe it’s the lineup overhaul and infusion of new bassist/vocalist Jonathan Reeves (ex-Kingdom Of Giants) into the mix as a big reason for the refreshed sound but the end result is something of a rebirth throughout all of House Of Cards.
“Kickboxer” is a gnarly opener, capturing all the Metal (core) magic that turned people onto TAA in the first place. If you got sucked into the band through this album’s lead single (We’ll get to that one in a sec…) and thought you knew what you were getting into then “Kickboxer” might be an eye opener… which is exactly what it needs to be here. Speaking of! The title track/lead single is still the absolute PERFECT intro to The Amity Affliction 2.0 with new addition Reeves front and center with the clean vocals sounding even better than the work he did in Kingdom Of Giants. “House Of Cards” is a glorious anthem with a chorus that’ll easily stay in your head and then this breakdown moment that’s sure to cause some memorable sing-a-long moments at shows with vocalist Joel Birch, amidst a respite of optimism, and the declaration of “Hate is easy/You gotta try and love yourself!”
“Heaven Sent” flows nicely out of “House Of Cards” with a ferocious start before a Reeves-led chorus brings about another shining sing-a-long that’s sure to be a new crowd favorite. If you thought TAA might’ve gone soft or too accessible with the first single then “Bleed” is here to set you straight with just under four minutes of feral syncopated shredding from guitarist Dan Brown with Birch leading the charge and a chant of “Tear it down! Tear it down!” heading towards one of the band’s most monolithic breakdowns.
“Break These Chains” shines a light on Reeves again at its’ onset before Birch’s brutal counterpoint answers with drummer Joe Longobardi’s sticks once again delivering a steady bashing, “Swan Dive” is a gorgeous intertwining of Old School TAA with TAA 2.0 and “Speaking In Tongues” is just nasty as it switches between different levels of heaviness. “Afterlife” is a Brown/Longobardi joint with the shreds and pummels offset by another stand out Reeves-led chorus while “Reap What You Sow” is that perfect mix of beauty and brutality that we often talk about with a glistening chorus, absolute heaviness throughout and a MASSIVE breakdown made for the mosh pits.
“Eternal War” is a blistering finale, and some of the band’s most biting stuff to date, hearkening back to Let the Ocean Take Me at times and surrounded by some sinister ass synths mucking up the works. Then when you think you have a read on the track, it turns things up to “11”, goes for broke and turns into a shreddy Metal massacre… then immediately switches back to the main bits and then switches again to bring an even more devilish breakdown until actually ending with one of those sick album closing fade outs of yesteryear as Birch screams “No peace! Just pain!” over and over some more.
House Of Cards arrives through Pure Noise Records on April 24th. Pre-order and pre-save options are up now and can be found by clicking here or on the stream below. For more from The Amity Affliction, including where to catch them on their current co-headline run with August Burns Red which recently decimated Worcester’s Palladium with a ferocious first night kick off show, hit the interwebs and the socials located here, here, here or here.