KNIFE BRIDE - 'sorry about the plague' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. alone at the altar

2. crucify

3. lilies

4. porcelain

5. poisoned by god

Nu-gothika pioneering quartet Knife Bride continue with new EP 'sorry about the plague', releasing on April 24th, self released via Blood Blast Distribution. 

'alone at the altar' eases you in with a slow, crescendoing intro before punching you in the face with a strong aggressive riff from guitarist Sean Windle, then provides a near masterclass in light and shade. Pair this with phenomenal vocals from both Mollie Clack and Glynn, and you have an extremely solid opening track. 

'crucify' keeps up that pace and aggression with a beautifully intricate riff from Windle, joining with the bass from Craig Glynn to provide a rich sound that feels like there are more than just the two stringed instruments involved. Clack puts in another impressive vocal performance, and the breakdown is very reminiscent of Slipknot with the screeching guitar. 

'lilies' eases you in with hypnotic, dreamy synths, matched in Clack's equally hypnotic vocals. On the whole it drops the aggression from the prior two tracks, while still maintaining the pace, thanks mainly to Sean Millsopp's drums, up until BOTH breakdowns that is. To me, it echoes 'Primrose Path' era 'Dream State' in the best way possible, hitting a sweet spot that is very difficult to achieve. 

'porcelain' gets things in a more aggressive direction again, while hitting that same balance of light and shade, with Clack's vocals soaring, with some moments reminiscent of Janine Shilstone of Vukovi's vocal styling. The breakdown in this is brutally heavy, pulling absolutely no punches to take you into the EP's finale. 

'poisoned by god' takes on a shoegaze-esque sound at various points throughout, with Windle's guitar sounding extremely dreamy to counterbalance Glynn and Millsopp's more driving rhythm section. Clack's vocals are perhaps at their most poppy in this one, and the talent is absolutely undeniable, contrasted nicely with Windle's impressive screams, before giving us one last breakdown to close out the EP. 

This EP is very impressive, with extremely sleek production and razor sharp songwriting that some veterans of the scene struggle to accomplish, they wear their influences on their sleeve whilst also paying homage to bands they've shared a stage with, and it leaves me wanting more. It is a crime that this band hasn't released a full length record yet, but I'll tell you this for certain: I will be among the first in line to listen to it when they do.

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