Artist: As We Draw
Label: Throatruiner Records
Release: 2010
Length: 37:33
Rating: 4.9/5
This is seriously cataclysmic post metal, a product of the collective mind of three guys, soaked in the wrecking-ball charge of pure primal passion. As We Draw have been cohabiting since July 2009, and before that drummer Amaury, bassist Pierre and guitarist/vocalist Quentin cut their teeth five years ago in Hard Of Hearing, while Quentin and Amaury still grind granite today in the brutal deathcore project The Brutal Deciever. As We Draw draw on past lessons and know-how, but at its core this is a power trio record, and that’s exactly why Lines Breaking Circles doesn’t sound weak, gappy or lacking anywhere. Just three guys, yet they sound like at least twenty! Intense, brutal music reaching for the avant-garde, with songwriting and graphic design as the two central pillars. For the debut they brought in Sylvain Biguet (who so far has been guilty of albums by Comity, Trepalium and Down To Earth), and the mastering is the work of Alan Douches (who has already worked with Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and plenty of others). Lines Breaking Circles sounds proud, like a loud counterpoint to the late Isis, Cult Of Luna, Pelican, conditionally also Neurosis, and we could go on. The record is a cathartic experience: the soft tissue of atmospheric, ethereal textures and dreamy guitars on one side and, and there’s undoubtedly more of this, sonic bombardment and solid bangin’ on the other. As We Draw sound like a mix of post rock and Mastodon, but the trio from Laval has spiced it all up with their own faith, heart and pure know-how. The arc of pleasure stretches cohesively from the bouncy, punk-sharpened opener Shame, and after a little under two minutes of hymn-like anthemic stuff comes an almost NoMeansNo moment of bass and drums in Sin Of Addiction, which is one of the longer tracks on the record but never wears you out or bores you. Shield conjures up a screamo version of incarnate bounciness and untamed devotion, a willing march off to the front lines, and halfway through it drifts off into Tool-style rhythmic aesthetics and a spaced-out guitar solo that’ll have you drooling in streams. After six minutes of post-metal emotional epic, Burst Of Colour comes to rest at a point of suffering and anxious melancholy. When Crowds Are Trapped… The Lonely One Dies is an instrumental connecting piece, an interlude, after which the clocks can start counting time in eons of morning dawn – Fault Lines marinates you again, building the mood from complete silence to booming, anthemic cues of introspective staring into the center of pain and suffering. Drowned In Flames feeds on the rage that At The Gates managed to capture on their underrated With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, then after a limping intro passage it splits open and bites into the schematic punk HC core of Draft, after which comes the goodbye and a temporary farewell in the beauty and sensual loveliness of one of the most lyrical pieces on the record – the song Scum Of The Earth.
Lines Breaking Circles is what you get when you decide that posing online with nice haircuts and the least readable, least pronounceable band names is a waste of time, goodwill and nerves. This time the idea and the pure music are front and center, and that’s plenty! As We Draw are workaholics and a damn quality band who know what the essence of modern aesthetics is. No effort, no results, and the seed planted in listeners’ ears this time will undoubtedly sprout into something beautiful and, above all, mighty. Tectonic shifts have aired out the mental world and the maps of the music scene. France is more and more planting itself in the center, the very navel of this wild new birth. As We Draw should be one of the important names in this bright sky of musical supernovas, but don’t rush! They still have to pass the test of time and give us one more proof that the eruption of this brilliance hasn’t drained everything good and innovative (and inventive) hiding at the very foundation of this three-headed musical beast. Me, convinced, enchanted and in love with the cascades of sound, I’m falling toward the ground. Time is standing still, and on the horizon a darkened sun of a gloomy November day has started to rise, longing for death and the end. To escape the depression of the moment, I put on my headphones and hit repeat again. Damn! Let it last forever!
Lineup
Amaury – drums, backing vocals
Pierre – bass, backing vocals
Quentin – vocals, guitar
Production
Sylvain Biguet, Alan Douches & As We Draw
Track List
1. Shame (01:53)
2. Sin Of Addiction (05:53)
3. Shield (04:12)
4. Burst Of Colour (06:00)
5. When Crowds Are Trapped… The Lonely One Dies (02:37)
6. Fault Lines (06:36)
7. Drowned In Flames (02:43)
8. Draft (02:12)
9. Scum Of The Earth (05:21)
