Loathe : A Stranger to You
What an odd place metalcore finds itself in. We feel a long way from the genre’s post-millennium heyday; the U.S. and Australia’s dominance, mimicking At the Gates’ melodic sensibilities and inventing Hot Topic Nintendocore. Over the pond, we had London’s underrated support-act-for-hire Last Witness and Your Demise making hardcore for snapback wearers chugging Carling. To this day, Rolo Tomassi have never really seen their critical plaudits returned with the same fan service—a disaster considering their leagues-above role in shaping the scene from Sheffield’s heavy music hotbed.
Almost unbelievably, their hometown counterparts Bring Me the Horizon have been frontrunners ever since their ahead-of-its-time MySpace deathcore debut to later becoming megapopular nu metal popstars. Architects manipulated feral mathcore by way of Tom Searle’s fantastic low B string noodling that became the weapon of choice for every lesser band to emulate since, to later also becoming megapopular nu metal popstars. Now, when the cookie-cutter is all there is to play with, there’s Loathe.
That long-winded genre rundown feels befitting of the band who have seemingly acknowledged their own lengthy radio silence with a wink (despite their obvious songwriting seriousness). A Stranger To You’s release feels eons since their modern masterpiece I Let It In And It Took Everything in 2020, and their suffering supporters have, naturally, lost their minds thinking about holding this thing in their hands before a certain video game.
In fact, Grand Theft Auto seems a good reference point for what sets Loathe apart. Of course, they had the shoegaze of Deftones and Periphery djent trends behind them. But this lot had the feel of something far more ambitious. Made with baritone guitars, there was a narrative cohesion to that past album particularly—a fully fledged document matching a speed-run of a violent world-building first person shooter, with the occasional cut scene needed to regain your composure.
Needless to say they have doubled down on their strengths, with ambient spoken word breaks that subtly complement the tech-metal barrage. That thunderous racket of noise from guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe has not left, that’s for sure. The opening riffs of single “Revenant” feel like iridescent laser-beams blasted through you, its atmosphere matching the frantic panic of an alien deathmatch level on Timesplitters 2. “Gemini” bludgeons instrumentally and vocalist Kareem France goes full-ham mode. Pre-released gem “Gifted Every Strength” has riffs to detonate a highway, yet also Mars Volta soloing for a prog-metal section that’s also a bit like Mastodon’s Blood Mountain days.
“Block of Flats” jumps off from a bubbling starting point to throw you for a loop, with an off-kilter groove its preparation stage doesn’t truly prepare you for. On the dance-style side of things, “Fortress Down” brings disco beatdowns back into the genre; a much-missed turn made most delectable in Enter Shikari’s alt-karaoke staple “Sorry You’re Not A Winner.” It also happens to have some pre-riff vocal humdingers, with assured vocal melody work pricking the ears in the record’s softer moments. “The Way It Breaks” works more straightforwardly in its goth-pop manner than their past hit ”Two-Way Mirror”. And despite “Fangs” being the closest they come to making nu-nu metal their own, it is by way of dark slinky R&B, similar to what Yves Tumor and Genesis Owusu are crushing it with.
“The Ladder” even reflects Nourished By Time to confusing, yet uplifting, effect. But it’s all a part of this unwieldy, high-gloss production; dancier, more approachable, warmer and psychedelic than what they have done before. During their absence, they’re still reimaging their influences so stylishly that the whole Loathe package remains the esoteric act that metalcore has justifiably longed for. Long live reinvention from bands that always strive for it.
Label: SharpTone
Year: 2026
Similar Albums:
Loathe : Stranger to You
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
