As pointless an exercise as “what if?” history is, it’s tempting to consider where While She Sleeps would be by now if their rocket to the top had not had its engines cut by the news that vocalist Loz Taylor required throat surgery.
Their debut proper ‘This Is the Six’ had owned metalcore in 2012; in their homeland their t-shirts were visible in every mosh pit at anybody’s show, and the wider world was starting to take notice of this very distinct and exciting brand of heavy music. What set While She Sleeps apart was their sheer honesty – this isn’t a “boy band with tattoos”, it’s a quintet of angry northerners pissed off at the world around them, intent on caving in your skull and refilling it with bright new possibilities. Their album was packed with life-affirming anthems delivered on bone-crunching metallic song structures; their live shows were remarkably tribal affairs even at the festivals they performed at. Then came uncertainty and a cooling-off period, if not a total clipping of the group’s wings. It’s hard to imagine the faithful straying, but the initial buzz around the band had plenty of time to dissipate by the time 2015 rolled around.
What’s perhaps most impressive about belated sophomore album ‘Brainwashed’ is how easily it picks up the baton considering the eighteen months that ran up to it. After a sub-minute sound bite intro that works in a similar way to those on the first two Slipknot records, building a sense of expectation and tension, “New World Torture” drops into view with the weight of a concrete elephant behind it. The subsequent 50 minutes is as organic and unflinchingly aggressive as its predecessor was, but also maintains the big melodies and if anything pushes them closer to the forefront. Warm, rousing gang vocals have long been a While She Sleeps calling card, and ‘Brainwashed’ is crammed with them – from the sombre opening refrain over muted clean guitars on “Four Walls” to the surprisingly straightforward chorus of “Life in Tension” and breather bridge that marks the turning point on “No Sides, No Enemies”. They’re employed just enough to feel characteristic and not repetitious, helped by Loz’s confidence and ability in his own right – his delivery is unshaken by the surgery he undertook, the lyrics he performs as heartfelt and broad-thinking as any penned prior.
The piano sections that did somewhat drag on ‘This Is the Six’ return in a scarcer sense here, most prominently in the gorgeous intro to epic closer “Modern Minds”, evolving into stunning melodic guitar leads. The principal difference between the two albums, however, is that where its predecessor was thrillingly immediate, ‘Brainwashed’ is much more of a grower, and takes time to fully appreciate. It can feel one-dimensional on first listen, but has hidden depths, be they the aching call to serious thinking that “Our Legacy” represents or “Trophies of Violence” sneaking up on you with crawling menace before exploding in its final third. Intriguingly titled instrumental “Kangaezu Ni” meanwhile offers a brief reprieve from the savagery on display elsewhere. On the other hand, there are as many “holy shit!” moments here as any album released so far in 2015, and the punishing final salvo on the title track is as good as metalcore gets (plaudits must be given to drummer Adam Savage, whose use of double bass on this record is both distinctive and exhilarating).
Quite where While She Sleeps stand off the back of ‘Brainwashed’ is unclear for now, but if there’s any justice in the world they’ll only resume and continue the ascent they’d been cruelly ripped away from. It’s a hugely rewarding album that may not scream brilliance instantaneously but has enormous depth and shows once and for all that its creators will not for a moment diminish their craft for commercial success or to appeal to anybody other than those who understand the vitality of their music. A group with a message and more skill than all but a handful of their contemporaries, their latest expression of anger and hope is the best heavy album of the year so far and deserves your immediate attention.
