Knocked Loose.

“Bryan Garris’ pained lyrics painting the picture of a character losing their partner in a car crash, his every shriek and bellow pouring white hot iron into our ears”.

When Knocked Loose dropped the ‘A Tear in The Fabric of Life’ EP in October, it sent our heads spinning. The metal beatdown revival scene has been strong in the past two years, casting the spotlight on savages like Code Orange, Jesus Piece, Kublai Khan and Varials. We had drunk deep, maybe even had our fill, but Knocked Loose tapped us on the shoulder as if to say, “if you liked that, have a go on this!” and the rest as they say...

‘A Tear…’ plays out as grief in all its stages, Bryan Garris’ pained lyrics painting the picture of a character losing their partner in a car crash, his every shriek and bellow pouring white hot iron into our ears. There is no escaping the spiral, opener ‘Where Light Divides The Holler’ starts us in the driver's seat with the radio jumping stations before the razor wire guitars fly at us like cluster bombs in flight. This is no mere chugathon; the production ensures every riff causes damage as it lands.

Photo: Joe Dick

‘God Knows’ follows with death-tinged grit. Where Knocked Loose excels is in having one foot in the old school and one in the new. The guitars at times remind us of a pure Slipknot gallop; the modulated effects even call up Munky (of Korn fame) in its twisting madness. Drummer Kevin ‘Pacsun’ Kaine must have loved every minute of this record, his drum attack is colossal!

Closer ‘Permanent’ drags the pain into burning grief, the pace slows down to a funeral march, despairing at the loss.
“Closure in a physical form,
Reject the hand of the devout,
When I saw the ghost was you,
All the lights went out,
Permanent blue”

Where Knocked Loose has gone with ‘A Tear…’, only the soul-weary and downtrodden may follow.

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