Monday 20 August 2018

DRUSE

BandDRUSE
GenresPunk / Post-Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Progressive Hardcore
Related artists: Controlled By Fear, Such Gold, Bone Mask and Courtesy Drop.
CountryRochester, New York U.S.A.
Years Active2014-present
Song: "Echninacea"
Album: "Honey from the Rock"
Year: 2018
For fans ofLeveless, The Minor Times, Whenskiesaregrey, Pianos Become The Teeth, Aviator, Touche Amore, Thrice, Locktender, Weak Teeth, Deftones, Subjects/Rulers, Massa Nera, Carved Up, Carrion Spring and Gilded Age.
Label(s): Self Released / Head2Wall Records
This post's artist is from the April 2018 Mix. This is track #8.
You can download: the April 2018 Mix#4 right here or get the new May 2018 Mix#5 here.

DRUSE began in Rochester, New York during 2014 and quickly released a five song EP titled 'Target Weight' later that same year. This is definitely a screamy post-hardcore release that is much more on the screamo side than their later material. I especially like the variety and surprises on the middle track "They Have Me On Camera", but all songs carry a decent weight to them, especially the 7:25 closer and title track "Target Weight". There's a bit of a Snapcase feel to driving instrumentals and occasionally I think I'm listening to really early Touche Amore but otherwise it bears some slight resemblance to Whenskiesaregrey.

In 2015 they released a single called "Presents at Home" which is by far the most playful and versatile song by the band, coming off at times like Chalmers at first, but the song leaps forward midway through with a huge speed increase, only to take a bit of an emo break at the end.

The next year they dropped 'The Way That We Ache', a five-song EP that takes the band a few steps forward in their sound, bringing in a much heavier/crushing bass and drum section. All of this is a counterweight against the sometimes melodic, sometimes driving and occasionally spacey guitars and much throatier screams than the previous two endeavors. This is apparent throughout the 4:27 opener "Meira" as it checks a heck of a lot of genre boxes, and does so while kicking serious ass. "Presents at Home" is on here too, but rerecorded and almost two minutes longer with an eerie, ambient intro and a much stronger swing. When "High Visibility" opens I thought I was listening to fucking Maserati for a second, with those lush, mathy instrumental grooves for the first minute and a bit before laying waste to listener with some seriously evil-sounding metallic hardcore. Also, I love the closing, repeated screams of, "This is for you to throw away!". Track four is titled "In the Room With You" and has a cool, danceable opening despite the snarling, vicious vocals. The soft/hard dynamic shift in and out from one to two minutes in conjunction with the sick bass riffs and swelling build afterward make it one of the standouts on this release. Closer "Deserve It All" is fast and rather angry, making it a blistering and not necessarily epic or long finale to the EP.

'Honey from the Rock' was released a little later than I had anticipated, as this review was pretty much done the earlier part of 2018. The wait was worth it, as the band's first LP is huge, as the band feels no restrictions in the use of "hardcore" and where that make take one on any given track. It would also be silly not to note that Alex' vocals have officially bridged the gap to becoming frighteningly ferocious in delivery and intent, as the screams spew forth with slight resemblance to other heavyweights Locktender, The Minor Times and the aforementioned Leveless. Opener "Grace Period" mixes the heaviness and gutteral tone of The Minor Times with quite a few similarities to Leveless. There's even a part at around 2:20 when I thought I was listening to Helmet instrumentals in addition to that killer solo that sweeps in around the three-minute mark to steal the show. The build and subsequent dual vocals that close out "Last Days of the Syracuse, NY Astral Projection Cult" are fantastic, as is the entirety of "Echninacea" which feels like the most complete track on here and is a certified banger. "The Alphabet" is pretty much removed from hardcore and punk for the first few minutes as they embrace post-rock/post-hardcore with swirling guitars and echoed vocals before pulling out a pretty sick second half. "Annlisa" boasts some very interesting guitars and swells in it, as well as the driving build from one to two minutes. "Bamboo" is perhaps the most violent and aggressive jam, the slow yet very catchy "Quiet and Slowly, Blue of My Heart" follows as the chillest while "Yom Kippur" has the most clean singing out of any song they've ever recorded.

It looks like the band already has a few new songs together so I assume we might see those late 2018 or early 2019? Only time will tell.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2014 - Target Weight digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Presents at Home digital single (stream/donate/download here)

2016 - The Way That We Ache EP (stream/buy here)

2018 - Honey from the Rock LP (stream/buy here)

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(2018) DRUSE - "Echninacea" (from 'Honey from the Rock')

(2018) DRUSE - "Grace Period" (from 'Honey from the Rock')

(2018) DRUSE - "Annalisa" (from 'Honey from the Rock')

(2016) DRUSE - "In the Room With You" (from 'The Way That We Ache')

(2016) DRUSE - "High Visibility" (from 'The Way That We Ache')

(2015) DRUSE - "Presents at Home" (from 'Presents at Home')

(2014) DRUSE - "They Have Me On Camera" (from 'Target Weight')

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DRUSE additional links
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