Self-professed nu-gothika metal band Knife Bride are from my hometown of Brighton. Good news for me, and for fans of Spiritbox/Bring Me The Horizon.
don’t dream too much is an excellently produced work of nu-metal, melodic metal with some poppy choruses and drum/guitar riffs verging on djent. The harmonies are lush and dark with plenty of movement to keep your ears entertained from start to finish.
Singer Mollie Buckley creates a diverse range of techniques and textures and some very stylish vocal melodies.
The EP opener is called ‘smother (make me suffer)‘, a track described by Buckley as a song that “attempts to ‘poke fun’ at the male gaze. The chorus does this by saying “hope I stay fresh for you”, alluding to hoping my corpse is still beautiful, clean, and looking/smelling good – satirically commenting on being a subservient female and letting a man have his cake and eat it.” The song starts with an absolute banger of a riff and then develops into a cocktail of pop and metal that will have people diving into the mosh-pit for more. The chorus is incredibly catchy, with original melodies, and a definite nod to Spiritbox.
The band are definitely defining their own sound though, and each track stands up, my favourite being the EP’s closer ‘permanent s m i l e’. This starts with a whipcrack of a snare and then drops into an excellent 6/8 swing metal song that builds and builds with each ascending vocal layer. Tasteful synths run throughout from Lauren Wise, adding depth and presence to create the fullness of sound. Best bit of the song kicks in at 2.38 with a siren against some very tidy guitar that never go into full solo mode but instead just create an aggressive, layering tone until the song’s final synth pulse kills it all and you want to hit play again from the beginning.
My only criticism is that the songs seem to follow a very similar sound and structural format and can be hard to differentiate between, however the band are only a couple of years in so it will be exciting to hear where they go next.
It’s a very impressive EP that grows with each listen and I look forward to seeing the band live. Definitely going to be on my metal radar from now on.
LIVE DATES:
08/09/2023 – Torquay The Foundry – Burn it Down Fest
30/09/2023 – Bristol The Lanes – Misery Loves Company Fest
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