[rayword45]

Day 988: Null by Ken Mode

Loved has steadily shot up amongst my internal ranking of albums from last decade over the course of the pandemic. The mood, the riffs and the subtle sense of humor make for an absolutely killer album that fits both my darkest emotional turmoils and my energetic upbeat days. Along with that, their 2015 show I saw might still be the best metal show I've ever seen, although Boris recently gave them a run for their money. I'm super hyped to be seeing both them and Palm later this fall, both being bands I found out about because they were on the same concert lineup during my senior year of high school as my hometown favorite Pile where they managed to steal the title of "best setlist of the night".

While I have enjoyed what I've heard of their earlier albums, they don't really scratch the same itch that Loved does, and I wouldn't say this album does either. Instead for me it scratches an entirely different itch, this harkens back to Success not in atmosphere or songwriting, but in how experimental and frequently non-metal it feels. At least a third of this album by runtime feels more like industrial or no wave than sludge metal, and Not My Fault might be the closest thing to a crowdpleasing riff rocker I've ever heard these guys do.

Whereas previous albums would be easiest to compare to something like Unsane, the band that comes to mind to compare here is Daughters. I never, ever understood Daughters and to this day I still think You Won't Get What You Want is one of the most overrated albums of the past 10 years amongst music nerds, fuckin melon. And this is without considering the Lingua Ignota shit! Anyways, while there is a lingering similarity between that album and this one, where this album succeeds for me is how much less theatrical it feels like it's attempting to be, instead feeling like the aggression on display is a true release of internal darkness (but not without some much needed self-awareness). And also the vocal performances are way more engaging here. And also the songwriting is more interesting across the board. And also the vocalist isn't a rapist.

Overall, I don't think this album is quite as strong as Loved but it's damn close, and where this album wins is on sheer variety and experimentation. After a 4 year break, these guys are still on a hot streak.

Best Track: A Love Letter
Rating: 9/10