True Heaviness Is Time by RUN. For all your Post-Metal needs, this is your paradise.

 

True Heaviness Is Time by RUN. For all your Post-Metal needs, this is your paradise.

One can rely on Lochlan Watt to bring you the goods whether it is his amazing weekly metal show or any degree of riffs/vocal war from his previous bands. Any conversation with this metal warlord quickly shows how deeply he is invested in his craft and his dedication is unparalleled. His latest herculean effort is the band RUN which seems to be developing with each release and performance.

Here's the bio/presser;

True Heaviness Is Time is a dynamic and powerful tour de force that grips as it slams from peak to peak, with barely a moment to breathe between explosions of lush melody and deeply crushing riffs. With an outlook forged through the fires of Watt's personal triumph over brain cancer, True Heaviness Is Time tackles the pain of existence with an aural violence powered by positivity.

Featuring guest vocals from Joel Birch of The Amity Affliction, John Floreani of Trophy Eyes, and Sophie Jest of R.U.B, there's a multitude of diverse sounds on display within the band's own unique take on heavy music - a classic 2000s metalcore sound infused with modern post-black metal.

Self-produced and engineered by guitarist Lewis Noke-Edwards, the release is polished off with a stunning mix from Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Animals As Leaders) and insane sci-fi inspired art direction by Patrick Galvin (Parkway Drive, Northlane).

The production is stunning, like in the vein of super aggressive and forcible metalcore trying to burst from the speakers; but with an obvious focus on remarkable vocals and desolate mood.

And the artwork as always is wild; super tangential and off its head spacey, tripping but utterly connected to the music/lyrics. But is the music worth your time? absolutely; this is a fierce and crushing release.

The self-titled opener is an atmospheric and intense lead into the universe that RUN creates. Self-proclaimed Blackened Post-Metalcore is the label and it is apt and suitable, but the side flavours/influences have significantly subtle and necessary elements be it death metal, black metal or post-hardcore. But fuck me it works. Even this short track makes you want to kick holes in your walls.

The first of the wild seasonal titled tracks is Spring. This illustrates what RUN does with their very crisp and focused songwriting that creates intense mood and drips with the psychological intent of creating passionate earworms. The craft be it stunning vocals or epic and solid musicianship of the players is high level and the smooth hooks are on display on this track. Guest vocals; I can take them or leave but Mr Birch from The Amity Affliction does add some glorious colour to this track. This is the first of many solid tracks on this dense release.


Summer pops up next and immediately you feel the weight of these tracks from the grim tone and lyrics. John from Trophy Eyes is the guest on this and for the first few listens I wasn't a fan of the clean vocal style on the chorus being the stubborn and old-school hardcore weirdo that I am. But once you listen a few more times, the balance of two vocal styles works in a sound-clashing manner that is perfect for the song. The melody fits in with the caustic vocal tone utilised by Lochlan here. Stay with the track, whilst not an EP highlight it works very well.


From this halfway point the release seems to step up in terms of hellbent aggression that is eloquently a match by the live performances(see our recent review below of their gig with Svalbard-stunning and gritty stuff that was mindblowing) of the tracks recently. Autumn is easily one of the highlights and the poignant lyrics are as heavy as the sizeable riffs; check this:

Another funeral, In the name of suicide

Feast on emptiness, Dead but still hungry

Forever gnaw, Infinitely raw

Another overture, In the name of suicide

I know how you could have felt so empty,

I've fucking been there too,

It envelopes us all,

Most unknowing of its presence

I want to be buried with empty pockets,

Leave them without a single grain of sand,

I want to be buried with empty pockets,

I know that yours were still half-full

Absolutely a track that is hectic as hell and really connects on many levels and absolutely a track that grabs you at a gig. The level of sheer grating and erosive tone on this is monstrous. The death metal influence seems at war with the modern black metal style, and that inner rasping is rare and something that got me from the first listen. If you look at the many bands the vocalist has been in, you realise this is the project where he has much more creative input, it really shows in the end product. Whilst he is a definite focus, this is very much a band so in sync with each other. Each band member definitely feeds off the energy of each other live and even on this recording. Now the lineup is perfect, and one cannot fathom just how wild the debut album will be in the future. RUN is a very well-oiled killing machine.

Winter is up next and is undoubtedly the finest guest performance on this record (also one of the most elite songs RUN have ever released). Black metal throwbacks are almost suffocating on this very dour and hostile track and like the previous track, the vocals sound like the absolute apocalyptic theme to the end of the world. Mr Watt sounds like he is having an aneurysm vocally and I adored that. Sophie from Melbourne Punk band R.U.B (has anyone made jokes about the two band names..LOL)puts in a killer performance towards the end of the track that turns the Deafheaven tribute track(of sorts, it's an absolute positive association) into a spellbinding tune that is as much post-hardcore as shoegazey indie magic; I mean focus on Sophie's scintillating and ethereal vocals near the very end-amazing work.

One Way Out is the bleak and monumental closer on this release and one that certainly lingers in the memory long after. Drama and triumph echo across this tune, simmering tension and a showcase of the belligerent rhythm section definitely push the boundaries and it is so glorious. A seductive sample kicks in at the 2:47 min mark and how does it lead you into a false sense of calm, before the gates of hell are unleashed. That sense of sweet medicine before caustic overload is why RUN is so important to extreme music because each release is never pigeonholed, suffocated by genres and this freedom results in an arrestingly unique and distinctive gift to the listener. The precise playing and musicianship are tight and godlike; but all of the parts from structure, tone and lyrics all serves an integral part to an astonishing creative masterpiece. Yes, True Heavieness is Time is epic and exhilarating and savage as fuck. Grab a copy asap!!!

Out now:

https://runmetal.bandcamp.com/album/true-heaviness-is-time

Watch these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvBk4t4BegY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0SwrawEZVU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuPQt0o6dWs

Get antisocial:

https://www.facebook.com/runmetal

https://www.instagram.com/run_metal/

Links:

https://linktr.ee/runmetal

Upcoming Tour Dates:

Saturday July 6 - The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne

w/ Body Prison, Post Heaven, Play Drive

Saturday July 13 - A Cold Day In BNE - The Triffid, Brisbane

w/ 50 Lions, Justice For The Damned, Diploid, Persecutor And More

Saturday August 3 - Southern Death Festival - Lion Arts, Adelaide

w/ Disentomb, Abramelin, Zeolite, Resin Tomb And More

Friday August 30 - Crowbar, Sydney

w/ Psycroptic, Flaming Wrekage, Algor Mortis, Naugrim

Saturday August 31 - Dicey Riley's, Wollongong

w/ Flaming Wrekage, Gosika

Give this a look, a stunning gig where RUN was killer:

Photos 2,4,5,6 and 7 by the magnificent Dan McKay, others stolen from the RUN social media and PR team.
 



 



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