Described by the band as years in the making, Purify bares all the intensities, angst, and determination which you can assume accompanied its journey. The debut album of UK metallers Borders, it is a cauldron of emotion, passion, and sonic dissonance delivered with an energy and prowess which demands and indeed commands eager attention.
Lincoln hailing, Borders has been busy luring keen praise and support since their pretty much first days but especially since the release in 2017 of their second EP, Diagnosed. In many ways it was a potent teaser to Purify though the album swiftly reveals it is a massive leap in craft, imagination, and adventure whilst building on the striking groundwork of its predecessor. Live the band is renowned for its dynamic and power soaked presence, one definitely captured within the imposing, often infectiously corrosive, and always compelling tempest of Purify.
The album is a ravening cyclone of varied metal bred styles and textures, a fusion as hostile and brutal as it is skilled and unapologetically captivating. Led by the magnetically bold and versatile tones of Jordan Olifent, the ten tracks making up Purify entice as they devour, arouse as they punish. Opener 731 quickly shares the virulent nature and ferocious intent of the band’s sound, the dexterity in its making as open as the song sidles up to ears from a distance, quickly teasing and enticing with a web of lures from guitarist Gavin Burton. Soon it is dominantly striding forth, the rhythms of bassist Tom Britton and drummer Daniel Hodson inciting and biting as Olifent’s raw throated squalls infest ears and song alike. Continuing to ebb and flow in its aggression whilst concentrating its lyrical observation and emotive intensity across an ever twisting landscape, the song is a powerful start and draw into the heart of the album.
It is quickly eclipsed though by the following Wake Up which from its first breath is seducing and ravaging the senses; djent and death nurtured enterprise colluding with sonic and melodic taunts as vocals again bring a great fusion of attacks to the feral trespass. No prisoners are taken in word and sound with every syllable and note a virulent incitement before Damage Everything jabs and swings at the listener with its own individually contagiousness enmity. It too outshone the song before for personal appetites, an Anti-Clone-esque essence adding to its voracious character and grippingly unpredictable tempest.
The even darker and heavier climate of Bad Blood follows, melodic toxicity uniting with physical ferocity as easily as harmonic backing aligns with Olifent’s flesh scarring causticity. At times there is a portentous calm to the atmosphere of the track, one bringing greater discontent to the breath of the track before its instinctive animosity is embraced and twisted into another major highlight of Purify in the rousing crossover/ extreme discord of War. The track epitomises everything potent in the Borders sound, melodic and bloodthirsty enterprise fused in another savagely inspiring provocation.
As Demon’s Reach, with its equally barbarous and adventurous infestation of imagination and craft, and the hardcore lined Nothing To Lose consume and ignite attention and appetite, Purify only tightened its grip and fascination with next up A World Apart adding yet another creatively fierce and esurient peak to its impressive landscape.
Purify is definitely as album which caught and hooked our ears from the off but provides so much more pleasure and revelation with further attention, each play unveiling another layer and texture to the character and individuality of tracks as proven by the predator that is Faded. With every listen fresh nuances are revealed to its surface blood thirst, melodic and sonic rapacity woven with increasing craft and imagination highlighted by the play with its briefness accentuating its feral magnificence.
Closed up by the boisterously crawling exploits of Walking Dead, a prowling unrelenting devourment of the senses and the political chaos of today, Purify just consumed the spot. The lengthy time of its making has no doubt brought many frustrations to the band but used as further fuel to the rage against the toxic state of the world which has inspired the heart, imagination and skill within one mighty beast of an album.
Purify is out now via Long Branch Records and available @ https://borders.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BordersBandUK/ https://twitter.com/BordersbandUK
Pete RingMaster 21/05/2019
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
The second track rises up from the formers portentous calm, almost hunting the senses and conjuring thoughts before rushing their barricades with vocal causticity amidst guitar spun wiring. The unpredictability and imagination of the band’s sound is soon properly unveiled, the song an aural kaleidoscope of flavours and sonic grains all designed to spread the tale and entice firm attention. Extreme and seductive textures continue to fluidly collude across the compelling proposition, the band’s progressive instincts seemingly honing the attributes of everything unveiled before Call to Arms stirred things up further with defiance and aggression. Yet it too brings an infectious melodic essence to its eruption, the mellower calms in between like the verbal and sonic narrator to the blossoming conflict. As the album itself both are tracks which reveal a little more by the listen, the richness of their narrative and bodies only thickened over time.
The following groove metal swing of The Anger Inside is just as potently captivating, the track equally a bruising and harassing slab of nu meets death metal soaked rock ‘n’ roll easily and quickly getting under the skin. Apell and Saunders steer the track through ears with sheer power and riveting guile respectively with the sonic cunning and causticity of Falconer and Osbourne similarly stirring and imposing.
The Serpent’s Tongue opens up the album, predatory riffs and Kerswill’s rapier swing to the fore but equally strands of citric endeavour entangle the trespass which in turn is accentuated by the familiar and ever magnetic tones of Fair and an increasingly antagonism in that rhythmic antipathy. Savage yet firmly galvanic, the track is superb; hues of bands like Pantera adding to an almost spiteful character but a grudge which invites deeper and greedier investigation as individual flair and prowess inspires a united enterprise.
The following Consume finds an even more predatory lilt to its voice and presence, extreme and melodic metal converging on ears and each other as again vocals challenge as they align their discontent. Dissonance soaks every note, syllable, and word; its dystopian coating breeding a conspiracy of enterprise and imagination within the track and subsequent album as proven by next up Devolution. Similarly woven yet individual in its character and rapacious attack, the song springs nu metal hues into its infestation of styles and the web of rancor woven from them. It too jabs and snaps as well as careers across the senses, the guitars alone weaving magnetic intrigue and adventure including a delicious groove as rhythms blossom in their predatory dynamics.
The compelling start to the album is thickened by the menace lined flirtation of Stellar. Nogues vocally walks through atmospheric intimation; his tones and expression becoming more intense as guitars weave a captivating almost feral aurora of sound as again rhythms court the predacious climate with their manipulative swing. It is a truly magnetic soundscape for ears to embrace and the imagination to explore, the band’s own lyrical and physical suggestion equally sparking fresh ventures in thoughts even as the senses increasingly cower before the brewing celestial storm.
Recorded with producer Aljoscha Sieg (Nasty, Eskimo Callboy, Vitja), Prism hits the ground running with opener Motoko Kusanagi. As the guitar joins an initial 8-bit fingering, a tempest gathers behind, swiftly unleashing its voracious force as rhythms fly and riffs bite. Vocalist Pipo Thalmann is quickly there in the midst growling as a delicious hook and similarly tasty grooves entwine the aggression before the already intensive beats of drummer Matteo Leuthold raise their rabidity and pummel the senses. Already a fusion of metal is at fevered play, expectations are taken to the cleaners by the subsequent twists and turns though the band has still yet to dip into their boldest enterprise hindsight revels. The track is pure bait with the guitars of Ziggy Lebon and Raphael Zumstein as predatory as they are creative conjurors.