September 2023 Feature Release - The Gateway Edition

Welcome back to school kids! I'm your homeroom teacher for the year, Saxy S, and we hope this year at Metal Academy is the best one so far! Before we begin, I would like to introduce you all to a band that I just discovered this year and figured that all the young, Deftones loving whipper-snappers would like also. This is Narrow Head and their third studio album, Moments of Clarity. Your first assignment is to share your thoughts on the album with the rest of the class. And I'm very strict with deadlines!

https://metal.academy/releases/42532

The promise of some Deftones influence in any band's sound instantly puts them on a solid footing for me to venture into checking out at least one or more of their releases. Narrow Head do not fail to live up to that promise either. There are times during Moments of Clarity when you could be forgiven for thinking they are the Deftones. They wear that influence on their sleeves with pride and do a very good job of representing the nu-metal/hazy alternative metal sound along the way. My problem with MoC is not that it anyway apes or simply copies an already well-sampled blueprint. The issue I have with this record is simply that is boring.

There is an overwhelming sense of positivity in the sound of Narrow Head that I just cannot bear. Notwithstanding that I am most definitely not a happy person 90% of the time, the good vibes here are still too much and the album fails to shine with any maturity or sensibility at all. Tracks just seem to merge into one. With no depth to the song writing there are no standout moments to pick up on and no variance in the emotions to hammer home any real point to the record.

My forays into The Gateway are very infrequent and it is the fear of finding records like this that give me that mindset. Far too safe and far too staid as a result.

1.5/5

While Narrow Head don't really reinvent in any meaningful way on Moments of Clarity, I cannot deny that I still quite enjoy the newest output. Something about it major harmonies and more jolly melodic songwriting is a welcome change of pace when I've been trapped in an extreme metal deep dive, or the forgettable quagmire of modern metalcore. Even in comparison to Deftones, the bands most obvious influence, they do not continue in a loathsome, haze infused way, unlike a band such as Loathe or early Teenage Wrist.

I did enjoy this; it was a rather pleasant change of pace, which makes it stand out amongst its more metal contemporaries. Having allowed this record to sit with me for a little while however, I do feel like my initial reaction was swayed by novelty. The record does meander a bit too much and it can turn into a slog if you listen to the whole thing. But with this being post-metal/shoegaze, I don't think it's the biggest deal breaker.

3.5/5