I’m biased for Volumes. There’s no reason to qualify anything because I follow this band without hesitation. August 18th, 2011, I saw them perform for the first time. As soon as the bouncing groove from “Intake” kicked in I was hooked.
They came along with djent when the genre was starting to solidify its legacy and changing music forever. They had two screaming frontmen who were like a rap duo. They played off each other and had different tenures in vocal tones.
At the time they had only had The Concept of Dreaming EP out but clearly their stage presence and song writing was advanced and unique enough to differentiate them from Meshuggah, Periphery, and etc.
I regarded Volumes immediately as a band to raise up for to festivals across the states and maybe internationally.
Fast forward six years, the band has released two full lengths and endured a major shake up. Myke Terry replaced Michael Barr and the band has shown significant changes stylistically.
“On Her Mind” moves the band from a rapper’s feel to literally featuring Pouya on verses. Usually these tactics within the scene come off gimmicky but with their well established grooves, particularly from the bass and drum beat, this combination works well.
Terry’s clean choruses continue to compliment the music, which was an element they permanently needed to establish a while ago. No Sleep started this process.
I don’t believe this will define Different Animals, dropping June 9th, but it’s a marker of where they’ve progressed.
Disaesthetic 