Since its demise in the early noughties, nu metal has been seen as a bit of an embarrassing moment in rock history that most people would rather forget existed (despite probably owning several Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit albums). The bastard love child of hip hop and metal, the subgenre spawned a great deal of bands which have since been shunned from society, so to fly the flag for its revival in 2015 then, is a bold move.
Bristol-based four piece Beyond Recall have unabashedly done just that. The Mixtape EP is five tracks of beefy, catchy tunes with a mix of rapped, screamed and clean vocals, and a dose of post-hardcore thrown in for good measure. This record is actually three years in the making for the band, who have been on-and-off during that time, but with the release of this EP, Beyond Recall look set to finally get this show on the road.
Ambitious orchestral intro ‘Start Game’ grabs your attention instantly, featuring an unusual Arabian Nights-esque string arrangement which soars over heavy metalcore riffs. Frontman Zaid Elgahmi takes his place behind the mic coming across at first like a young Mike Shinoda, but quickly cranks things up a gear with tonsil-shredding roars. EDM-tinged ‘Haters’ tosses between angry stop-start riffs and a whiny emo chorus which is a bit of a turn-off, but there’s redemption in third track ‘Almost’ which lays down a thick groove with an angsty riff that’ll have you wanting to break everything in sight.
Heaviest track ‘Long Live Liberation’ is a high adrenaline ride, with more orchestral arrangements mixed in with aggressive beatdowns. This one tackles more serious and political subject matter close to vocalist Zaid’s heart, and he screams with such raw passion that you feel you’re right there with him. Party track ‘Up Up!’ closes the EP on a synth-laden high and serves as a fuck you to their haters with the lyrics ‘This isn’t what you wanted? We stand true/Won’t change our genre just because of you!’.
The Mixtape EP is overall a solid effort, with a slick production and strong set of tracks that are guaranteed to get crowds moving. Whether you like what they’re doing or not, Beyond Recall are sticking to their guns and in doing so have already gained a steady legion of fans. This young band have the energy, the potential and the balls to become huge – question is, are you on board?
