Uniform : American Standard
Go back through Uniform’s history, and you’ll find a discography rife with a barrage of thundering industrial metal and emotionally scathing lyrics. American Standard, Uniform’s fifth studio album, continues this trend while representing a significant step forward for them, making for one of the most visceral listening experiences of the year.
At the center of American Standard is Uniform frontman Michael Berdan, who takes audiences deep into his harrowing experiences struggling with body dysmorphia and bulimia nervosa. In collaboration with writers Maggie Siebert and B.R. Yeager, Berdan has crafted a work of body horror that’s more emotionally driven than your typical industrial metal pounding. American Standard is brimming with chilling imagery, Berdan’s lyrics painting images of isolated suffering. Like the best body horror, he understands the psychic connection between the body and mind, how physical pain is a response to something within.
That pain is also conveyed through Berdan’s iconic vocal presentation; his voice has a wretchedness to it that never feels artificial. When you hear him scream, it doesn’t sound like screaming for its own sake, but the cries of someone terrified and rageful. Across the album, Berdan fluctuates his voice through various modes of pacing to punch up the emotional delivery of his lines, that presentation being further elevated by the band’s instrumental performances.
On American Standard, Uniform offers an array of sound that feels industrial; the instrumentation paints an atmosphere reminiscent of what one might experience at an actual factory, like that featured on the album’s cover. Throughout the record’s four epic tracks, Uniform unload sludgy rhythms that churn and pound over and over, that repetition establishing an ugly, dreary air. Uniform’s blend of industrial sludge allows for these grimy, filthy textures, which further immerse listeners in the horror.
Creating American Standard must’ve been no easy task for Berdan, who, metaphorically speaking, lays the history of his body out for all to witness. While the album is a group effort, there’s no denying the incredible poetic and personal depth Berdan has infused into this work. American Standard is a brilliant achievement for Uniform: a heart-wrenching work that isn’t just the finest album to come from the band, it also represents what metal is capable of at its best.
Label: Sacred Bones
Year: 2024
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Uniform : American Standard
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