Review by Daniel for Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024)
I've been aware of Kentucky metalcore outfit Knocked Loose for three or four years now. I picked up on their highly regarded 2021 "A Tear in the Fabric of Life" E.P. shortly after it hit the shelves & found myself quite liking their heavyweight take on the genre. It would appear that the promise the five-piece band had shown on that earlier release was not a one-off either with Knocked Loose's recent third album "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To" taking the hype register by the scruff of the neck & dragging it into rarely explored territory, even seeing the album becoming arguably 2024's most talked about metal record. After my experiences with "A Tear in the Fabric of Life", I felt pretty positive about the prospect of returning to Knocked Loose for another dose of aggressive metalcore, this time in a full-length album format.
The "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To" album would once again be released through Californian punk label Pure Noise who Knocked Loose had been working with for a number of years by this stage. It would be produced by American Drew Fulk & is the first Knocked Loose full-length to feature second guitarist Nicko Calderon. The result is a huge, loud & in-your-face sound which makes the listener instantly stand up & take notice. The over-saturated guitars are bright, vibrant & extreme, very much enjoying the backing of a heavyweight rhythm section that drives this material with a no-holds-barred approach that is further accentuated by the consistently violent contribution of front man Bryan Garris whose vocal chords must have been a complete mess after this throat-shredding collection of anger-fueled tunes. He absolutely screams his fucking head off for the entire runtime of the album to be honest but, while some may say that he's s a little bit of a one-trick pony, in the context of such a short record (whose ten songs clock in at just a little over twenty-seven minutes) I never find him overstaying his welcome.
This stuff isn't anything terribly original but it's stunningly executed by an artist that is clearly one of the leaders in their field these days. If you find the classic metalcore breakdown to be tired & difficult to sit through then you may find yourself struggling with "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To" because it's absolutely stuffed full of the fuckers. They're admittedly done very well though & the ADD-fueled arrangement ensure that they never hang around for too long before moving into something else either. The transitions are actually very well done when you consider how hyperactive & chaotic the song-writing is & I never get that jarring feeling that I inevitably experience when a band simply slap two widely disparate musical ideas together in a haphazard fashion here. Knocked Loose are a more professional act than that with even the odd jumpy nu metal riffs appearing to be fairly well placed.
Look... "You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To" certainly isn't gonna change too many people's opinions on the metalcore genre as it's more of a celebration of everything that its existing fans love about it & does it with a cheeky wink & an element of class & efficiency. It's a whirlwind of violence & vitriol which is generally what I'd suggest the genre was built to showcase in the first place, wasn't it? It pleases me that Knocked Loose don't fall into the growing glut of metalcore acts that seem to have forgotten their hardcore roots too with this material being built on a gritty base of punk urgency. The inclusion of a couple guest appearances help to break things up too with Poppy & Motionless in White front man Chris Motionless making effective contributions that help to ensure that the short album doesn't feel one-dimensional. It all works well as an holistic package & leaves me with the distinct feeling that all members of our The Revolution clan should be across this album which represents one of the more important & effective statements that metalcore has made in recent years.
For fans of Jesus Piece, Kublai Khan TX & Varials.