Thoughtcrimes – Altered Pasts LP (Pure Noise Records)

I think we included every bit of news about this band since they’ve started promoting their debut full-length release, and there’s pretty much a good reason why we did it. Thoughtscrimes burst with sheer quality since day one, and I cannot skip the news when the band sounds so incredible. The Drowning Man, Panopticon, Keyhole Romance, New Infinities, Mirror Glue, all these singles are more than a good reason to check out and purchase Thoughtcrimes‘ upcoming album named Altered Pasts. The funny thing is how the band revealed some proper bangers among these five tracks, but the remainder of the album is equally good, and it unquestionably deserves your utmost attention if you’re into perfectly executed extreme underground music.

Altered Pasts spans so many complementary music genres it’s nearly impossible to grasp them all in only one listening. Thoughtcrimes thoroughly planned each sonic maneuver, sequence, and segment, so mathcore will probably come to mind first. However, Altered Pasts is more than just another mathcore album. The band unquestionably delves deep into the mathcore aesthetic, but it also experiments with plenty of metalcore, hardcore, post-hardcore, alternative metal, ambient, drum and bass, breakbeat, synth, and electronic music. Thoughtcrimes’ built their sound upon foundations of all the beforementioned music genres, but you’ll have many difficulties classifying which one of them comes first. Their clever combinations of these music genres are the primary reason you will have a hard time wrapping your head around their sound.

Still, Altered Pasts is a comprehensive collection of wisely assembled tracks that will keep your ears occupied for a while. Each technically demanding shred, riff, or any other virtuosity provided by continuously dueling guitars will leave you questioning your understanding of how this instrument actually works. Their shredding is utterly mindblowing from scratch to finish, and each idea implemented into this album defines the laws of music. The tremendous low-end tones undoubtedly contribute to the heaviness of the beforementioned virtuosities. Each bassline plays an enormous role in shaping their sound. Nothing would sound extremely complex and stable without the exceptional drumming performance, which bursts with profoundly detailed rhythmic acrobatics, accentuations, and energetic fills. The lead vocalist continuously levitates between hellish screams, growls, shouts, and clean chants. His vocal performance complements each partition provided by the remainder of the band.

Thoughtcrimes switch between extremely aggressive, technical, dynamic sequences to calmy, soothing, atmospheric parts with such ease, and these sonic transformations work perfectly together. The entire band incorporated all the experience, knowledge, and skills into Altered Pasts, and it’s been a while since I heard a mind-blowing debut full-length like this one. Altered Pasts drops on August 26th via Pure Noise Records, so head to their web store and grab this incredible mathcore gem.