METZ
Strange Peace

At this moment, METZ are surely what could be defined as the true standard-bearers of Sub Pop Records.

After the release of 'METZ' (2012) and 'II' (2015), with the new album 'Strange Peace', released on September 22, the trio originally from Ottawa (Canada) and now based in Toronto, composed of guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies, firmly establish themselves as perhaps the most interesting alternative and hardcore reality on the USA scene.

Drawing from a significant hardcore tradition in North America and the sound of bands like Bad Brains, Husker Du, Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, and Shellac... METZ have managed to reintroduce these sounds in a historical context where they are surely not the 'norm,' while presenting themselves with a typically indie aesthetic that has allowed them to break the barriers of time.

Frankly, I must say that the two previous episodes did not particularly strike me favorably, but it is undeniable that the contents of 'Strange Peace' are indeed interesting and worthy of consideration, also because there are not many albums of this type among those released this year.

First of all, a note must be made that acts as a kind of seal of quality regarding the product in question: the album's production is by Steve Albini. This means that the trio basically got to come face-to-face with their idol and directly enter that 'legend' they have pursued since the beginning.

Secondly, it must be said that if there is a band that comes to mind while listening to this album, apart from the references already mentioned among the inspirations behind the project, it is, perhaps unexpectedly, the Nirvana of Kurt Cobain, especially referring to their less 'commercial' early phase. The Nirvana of 'Bleach', to be clear.

The songs on the album, starting with the first track 'Mess Of Wires', are truly waves of noise music, often repetitive in the style of some of the experiences of Wire or Yo La Tengo ('Drained Lake', 'Caterpillar').

Beyond some typically hardcore moments ('Dig A Hole') and almost shoegaze moments reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine ('Sink'), the typical half-hallucinated singing style reminiscent of Barry Lyndon and those typically Kurdt Cobain screams, combined with the pumped-up bass sound, the drum noise, and the typically metallic sound of electric guitars, cannot help but point directly back to Nirvana ('Lost In The Blank City', 'Common Trash', 'Raw Materials'), which METZ echo twenty-three years after Cobain's passing.

Sonic Youth, Melvins, Unsane, and among contemporary bands perhaps Japandroids or A Place to Bury Strangers, Wavves, are artists with attitudes similar to METZ, but I must say that until now among the bands of the new wave and referring to certain hardcore sounds of the eighties-nineties and Nirvana's grunge, I have never heard anything so perfectly accomplished, and this is the first time I am faced with a product that is both quality and commercially viable, and it would surprise me if it ultimately did not receive the attention it deserves from both the public and critics.