Vein - This World Is Going to Ruin You (2022)^{Release ID: 35223}

It feels weird to hear metalcore getting heavier and more frenetic over the last five years, even as longtime giants of the genre, Converge, move in very different direction. The popular sounds of Warped Tour metalcore of the late 2000s has all but evaporated from the mainstream lexicon and replaced by more mathcore and djent tendencies. But don't think I did not notice that a lot of it has become more mature over the last decade as well. Loathe using Deftones-esque post-metal techniques was refreshing in 2020, but lets not forget about Vein. Their 2018 album Errorzone was a vicious assault on the ears and one I remember quite fondly, but remember most for its heavier subtext.

A few years later, Vein (now under the stage name Vein.fm) have released This World Is Going to Ruin You. And right out of the gate, you can tell this record is going to be strong willed. A whopping low end that may be compromised by some heavier down tuned guitars and triggered bass drum, leaving some independent bass lines feeling really underwhelming, a gripping vocal performance, and like with all good metalcore albums, breakdowns that feel connected to their melodic counterparts in each track. Although, you might not pick up on that right out of the gate, since "The Killing Womb" is the closest thing to fitting into a mathcore trend on this entire record.

Vein.fm are very competent in their shorter song lengths. "Lights Out", "Inside Design" and "Magazine Beach" are all revved up in intensity, but do not overstay their welcome, which makes them not become overwhelming. Conversely, The tracks "Fear in Non Fiction" and "Orgy in the Morgue" both have solid ideas, but consist of extended runtimes; essentially resulting in what feels like two different ideas stapled together. Which is a shame because the first half of both of these tracks are excellent, where I would usually considered them my album highlights. But because they both contain a second half which feels tacked on, it becomes harder for me to sell them.

However, both of these tracks (but mostly "Fear in Non Fiction") have clean singing vocals, which are seldom heard on this record until its final two tracks; the longest on the album and arguably most well constructed. "Wavery" has this dynamic swell that gives the feel of something post-metal adjacent, until halfway through when the clean vocals are swept away, a breakdown groove takes over and the track painfully slows down to its conclusion, before "Funeral Sound" attempts the same formula, but to far more terrifying results. I do like the track, but feel like the first of the voice messages shuts down the momentum that had been simmering leading into it.

If find this record to have more depth than Errorzone, but without the consistency. The middle of this record with its shorter songs might sound decent as Vein.fm songs, but fail to hold any weight beyond when they are sandwiched between some of Vein.fm's most well constructed songs in their discography.