News - Like Moths To Flames

Like Moths To Flames unleash 2 cataclysmic new singles in preparation for impending album announcement

Read through for the single(s) review!

Photo credit |The Vargant Key

 
 

Single(s) Review from Matthew Powers insomnia music mag Journalist

Like Moths To Flames have been conjuring mosh pits across the globe since forming in 2010. As one of metalcore’s heaviest and most napalm-inducing bands, fans have come to expect an all-out assault on the body and mind when new music from the Ohio quartet arrives. Over the 14 years of being a band, Moths’ sound has only become more: More textured, more technical and, most importantly, more aggressive.

Upon hearing the two new singles Moths blessed the internet with this past Friday, Angels Weep and Paradigm Trigger, the words that immediately came to my mind were “Methodical yet deliberate”.

When I click play on a LMTF song, I expect brutally fun one-liners, the kind of memorable, hateful mosh calls that gave fellow Ohioan New Wave of American Heavy Metal act Chimaira their revered status. Where Mark Hunter famously bellowed “I HATE EVERYONE”, Moths’ Chris Roetter met him some 8 years later with “WHAT MAKES YOU BETTER THAN ME?” And thus the Ohio-bred mosh call continues on. Chris brings such a distinct angry roar that it’s not difficult to picture Moths’ shows igniting with a single uttered line.

Indeed, both new singles don’t disappoint in that department.

Paradigm Trigger, in particular, sets the foreboding tone against a Poltergeist-inspired backdrop with the opening line “The sound of static, white noise, pixelated scenes I don’t recognize, THE VOID BEHIND THE EYES”. I have always loved how the band constructs a song around a singular line that conveys the song’s general idea and is eventually brought back in an even more intense way towards the end of the song. Paradigm Trigger pulls this off with aplomb. The vocals, aggro as always, employ a layered, slightly buried approach when the ‘clean’ singing is utilized which gives the song more dynamic production values.

In the instrumental department, Moths have always sliced, chugged and bounced with the best of their peers. A more underrated but still vital part of their sound are the slithering lead guitar lines that bring an evil atmosphere. The only way I could describe them is, “If Slayer wrote for 2010s deathcore”. Moths have also always deployed lots of note-bending which lends their sound a certain weight and groove. Over time the band has added more speed to their sound and in the newer songs, I hear a lot of classic metalcore guitar sounds. Paradigm Trigger brings in Killswitch Engage-esque pinch harmonics, Gojira pick scrapes and time-tested thrashy rhythm patterns.

Over the last 3 releases, the guitars and rhythms have taken a more angular, progressive approach as well. This continues with the new singles and it makes for impressive, unpredictable transitions. Instead of just a fast verse into a breakdown, Moths will chop the rhythm up around more atmosphere before delivering the crushing blow. This makes for a satisfying combination of classic and new metalcore. All of this can be attributed to the additions of Zach Pishney and Cody Cavanaugh on guitar. Pishney has been with the band since 2019’s Where The Light Refuses To Go and has played a vital part in constructing the band’s modern sound.

With the release of the Paradigm Trigger music video, we can also see that Moths have Roman Garcia behind the drum kit. This will be his first official and credited release since joining the band. Phinehas’ drummer Isaiah Perez recorded the drum parts on 2020’s No Eternity In Gold, the forthcoming sixth record’s predecessor. It is with Angels Weep where I hear the most difference from new and old Like Moths To Flames in terms of rhythm. There’s a Psychosocial-esque syncopated kick drum to rhythm guitar chug lead-in that is a totally new approach for the band and it fits well. This also fits the abrasive edge and visual of the song itself, with a line like “A place immune to the suffering never existed, the death choir sings”. The lyricism paints a grim allegory of the world we live in using popular religious imagery, another staple of Moths’ approach that has only been stepped up. There is a poetic quality to the writing that has evolved over time, almost reminding me of Fit For An Autopsy’s more recent releases.

Overall, the end result of the new music from Like Moths To Flames is that both songs represent an impressive step forward. Angels Weep and Paradigm Trigger represent a metalcore band honing their craft to a high degree and should find fans eagerly awaiting what comes next from the band.