Review: Trenches | The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole

Over the past few years more and more bands of different genres seem to be incorporating the style of post metal, showing off the influences of bands such as Isis and Neurosis, while the post metal bands themselves tend to try and keep a distinct sludge sound. Trenches are a post metal studio project whose most notable feature is the involvement of Jimmy Ryan, former vocalist of Haste The Day. Instead of going for a unique sound, the band seems to have fell into a wannabe Isis / Neurosis type of vibe on their debut, The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole.

A couple things are indeed unique though; one being the fact that Jimmy Ryan is actually doing vocals for a band like this. At times his signature, harsh screams sound surprisingly well over the sludgy areas of this album, especially the first song of the CD. Once the song flows into the more atmospheric sections, his voice immediately sounds out of place. There are actually a slew of different vocal approaches throughout this album from aggressive yelling to dull, careless singing to Chino Moreno mimicry attempts to low, beastly roars to some impressive vocal harmonies.

One of the better singing parts of the album comes at the end of the standout track, “Pathways”. The song’s structure and flow stand out from all of the other tracks, as nearly nothing is repeated and the aforementioned singing climax really separates this song from the rest of the album. The majority of the tracks, however, seem to have a simple verse/chorus/verse structure, leaving them tasteless and forgettable after a few spins. Some tracks also have awful sounding moments only to be followed by great moments later on. A good example of this is “Bittersweet”, with its tired singing and nu-metal palm muting, which later transitions into a breathtaking piano and organ section climaxing into some heavier sections with graceful atmospheric guitar leads.

The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole was once in a list of my most anticipated albums of the year, and it was later quite quickly added to my list of disappointments. The record is good, but it’s not nearly as good or as epic and impressive as expected. The amount of atmosphere on the album is minimal (unless all of it was saved up for the final 7 minutes of ambiance at the end of “Cornered”), and the sludge parts are extremely cliché. The song writing is bland and predictable, sounding like a sludge inspired metalcore band. Either way, I’m looking forward to a future release from Trenches. Here’s to hoping the band progresses with their songwriting and makes a unique post-metal sound of their own, rather than making a record filled with several other band’s ideas.

Rating: 3.0/5