Californian screamo outfit Waternoose creates a dizzying, discordant racket on their debut recording, All Pain, No Feeling.
For roughly 18 minutes, All Pain, No Feeling effortlessly melds traditional screamo elements with sonic traits associated with powerviolence, hardcore, and mathcore. The result is an urgent sound that is immediately recognizable, but unique at the same time. The record consistently floats between the melodic and the chaotic, the pummeling and the pensive, ensuring the listener is kept on their toes.
“Centipede” opens the record with a procession of hammering, dissonant chords that transition into an anthemic closing passage rife with melodic riffs, concussive drumming, and pain-stricken vocals. All Pain, No Feeling only gets more intense from here as “Obscene Friend” comes crashing in shortly after with an onslaught of frenzied, metallic hardcore riffage and propulsive percussion.
While the majority of the tracks stampede out of the gate aiming for the throat, some of the cuts opt for a different approach. “The Carynx” opens with a dreamy, almost post-rock passage that glides along before exploding into doom-laden guitar riffs that trudge along until the song’s conclusion. The instrumental track “It Is a Maker” also offers a brief break from the unbridled insanity with nearly two minutes of solo broken blues guitar. But as soon as this bluesy interlude ends, the chaos returns with the closing track “Roll the Dice,” which shreds the listener to bits with spastic, squalling guitars that call Canada Songs-era Daughters to mind.
Waternoose’s debut is unpredictable, vicious, and a must-listen for veteran screamo nerds and those who have begun to dip their toes into the genre.
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Label: Cliff Parade Records (Order Here)
Favorite Tracks: “Obscene Friend,” The Carynx,” and “Roll the Dice”
For Fans Of: Youth Funeral, Jeromes Dream, and pg.99
Mathcore Index 