I Am Abomination
To Our Forefathers

I am the abomination, is the eloquent name of this unknown band from Michigan US. One day while (na)v(i)gating the tube, noting how many groups try to make good post-hardcore or imitate the major bands of the genre, but fail miserably, I stumbled upon the official video of these roughnecks. And shortly after, I realized they really were rough.

But aside from appearances, these lads introduced their track "Since 1776" with the shrill voice of the singer Phil Druyor and continued with a fast riff supported by heavy drum exchanges. I started listening to it a bit indifferently, but surprisingly my ears did not disapprove. I listened again a bit more attentively and finally, this was what they served me: a clean, pop-leaning but very talented voice, some pretty good guitar riffs, enough to throw in a solo halfway through the piece, a very catchy chorus, a partial breakdown, and finally a hint of electronics here and there. Some might be suspicious, others might just close the page, but the fact is they captured my attention and I dedicated some time to listen to their latest full-length "To Our Forefathers".

IAA's genre is hard to define: with their production, they brand themselves with a sought-after post-hardcore sound, which however veers towards more melodic parts due to Phil's constant clean vocals. However, the work of the guitarists nods towards more experimental motifs, and thanks to their skills, they add a more progressive sheen to the entire product.

"Since 1776", the song I was talking about, is also the first track: engaging, powerful, and absolutely original. Let's say it was indeed love at first sight with this piece, for the perfect blend of vocal melodies and instrumental skills, and the prowess to reinvent and thus reaffirm this genre.

Subsequently, our abominable ones do not disappoint, in fact, they know how to excite and amuse, engaging with great inspiration and compositional originality, but unfortunately, it's always so easy to be deluded. Indeed, something is off: the sound becomes more intricate and no longer flows smoothly as at the beginning, except on a few occasions, and even the same candid voice of Phil tends to tire, losing the attractive capability it initially possessed. Midway through the album, specifically during "Rock N No Soul", the growl of the screamer from a well-known American post-hardcore band (We Came As Romans) emerged out of nowhere, and I began to curl my lip, nose, and perhaps something else too.

Nevertheless, undeterred, I let the album play, determined to understand what had so fascinated me at the start and fortunately the subsequent tracks delivered the expected result: the band reaffirmed everything they had proposed and distinguished themselves, if not by surpassing themselves. The vigor and the traction or -catchy- remained very high and even though the rhythms were less sustained, it was undeniable that the abominable ones created heavenly melodic atmospheres while simultaneously managing an instrumental hell that had nothing to envy in the current post-hardcore scene. It remained the fact that over the long term the sound tired, bluntly speaking, and some tracks were boring or fell into the vicious cycle of repetitiveness. The déjà-vu sensation emerged also for the constant presence of Phil's voice, which without significant variations of timbre, or without continual exchange with scream\growl, lost its effectiveness to the detriment of monotony.

However, determined to understand the true nature of these flaws, I slowly began to shed light on the band's true essence, like freeing a lantern from old cobwebs that prevent it from shining as it should. Absent-mindedly, I picked up the lyrics of the pieces just to take a glance, and there I had my revelation. The abominable ones had put together a completely original songwriting, very provocative, bold, almost presumptuous. Rarely does instrumental capability accompany literal one, and I must say, I began to view To Our Forefathers with a different eye, justifying the means with the ends, that is, justifying the flaws listed above with the messages Phil's voice attempts to communicate, which I think it's time to expose.

Abandoning the conventions of songwriting in this musical genre, the lyrics are crafted with a work of research and precision that favors form for statement: short phrases that proclaim a truth, an emotion, a principle in a sophisticated form (yes, I took it from the dictionary, but it fit).
"If we are so free then why our minds not meant to be", resonates the chorus of the single "Since 1776": which with irreverent simplicity criticizes our current way of being, derived from American customs and traditions (Since 1776, the birth date of the USA), pointing the finger against globalization, the monopoly of weapons, the subjugation to mass media that raises dust over the true human condition "We live like batteries, simply born to die". The display of politically and ideologically driven allegories emerges more clearly on the following piece "Thoughtcrime is Death", where we are warned by the presence of an Orwellian-style big brother, of a tyrant always ready to control our minds, to govern us in the least obvious ways, and to turn us into drones through our total indifference.
In "Cataclysm", after a groundbreaking intro, Phil poses to us the question of questions "What makes us humans?" in one of the better-executed pieces of the album. "We set the stage, We pull the strings, Yet, We're in a world left heartless". We human beings can destroy, build, do what we please, but even if we hold the strings on life's stage, we are in a sinister, naive, and heartless world where we are forced to bask in religions or scientific discoveries.
And here emerges another unique feature of the abominations, they indeed deviate from the same pseudo-Christian guise that many American metalcore bands have (Christian metalcore?) protectors of the word of the Lord God, followers of the holy shroud, and proclaim themselves atheists and absolutely materialistic. In various pieces, almost aware of the criticism someone might make, they want us to infer it, and even confide it to us with proper references: "Lord I've been saved and it wasn't by you", they affirm unabashedly in "The Deceiver". Even in their calmer track, "Greetings From Easter Island", they continue to criticize religion, "God dies when the churches rise" is their Nietzschean motto, but they want to draw our attention to our past, still distant and mysterious for us, which probably hides the answers to all our questions..
"Invisible Titans" and "Rock'n'Soul", the central pieces, feature the most cryptic lyrics, but no less enjoyable for that, incredibly written for free and healthy interpretation. Phil's ethereal and sweet voice takes us by the hand in the splendid "Art Attack", revolving around the theme of the word and its expressive power, an "organ that has a beat", an organ with a life of its own, but an easy object of manipulation, always a victim of that disease called hypocrisy. His voice, laden with resignation, re-energizes in "Creatures Of The Night", the album's most beautiful track. In an easy yet wonderful parable, we are told that these creatures are nothing but faint presences that cause our ideas to arise or "ignite", hoping to emerge and take shape through our actions. Enchanting with continuous rhythm changes, the last track "Element 51" wraps up where the abominations leave us enveloped in a halo of mystery, but prophesying an ascent in a burst of light of what are our true ancestors..

Ending it all masterfully, I can't help but repeat that the means are fully justified.

I don't think I am out of place when I say that to create such a work not only skill, intelligence, and ability are needed, but also a bit of that forgotten virtue called courage.

"You can stop an army, but no barricade can stop an idea"