Album Review : Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024)
The mainstream popularity of metalcore outfit Knocked Loose is as exhilarating as it is inexplicable. Someone, somewhere chose them to be the metal band that non metal people accepted to have around even if they kept their sound abrasive and uncompromising over the years. It also made them the "cool kids" of metal who everyone else is jealous of. I took years to wrap my head around Knocked Loose's personal blend of first wave metalcore and hardcore punk, but You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To is here and it's awesome.
You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To features ten breathless songs and a little over twenty-seven minutes of music. The opener Thirst starts with an eerie and meditative sample before exploding into a death metal-influenced wall of overwhelming violence lead by Bryan Garris' unmistakable screechy vocals. His contribution is, by far, the most divisive and iconic thing about Knocked Loose. I like to compare his singing style to licorice. It exists for specific cravings that I don't have most of the time.
Piece by Piece is a more conventional piece first wave metalcore revival featuring bouncy riffs, dramatic breakdown and an emotional performance by Bryan Garris. It's one of the best things I've ever heard from him. The collaboration with loveable YouTube weirdo Poppy Suffocate leans more on the industrial and atmospheric side. I love how gnarly the first guitar riff on the song is and how dissonant it gets. Garris and Poppy have great chemistry together on it. It might be my favorite thing Knocked Loose has ever done.
The fourth song on You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To is called Don't Reach For Me. It stands out on the record because it cannot be pigeonholed into a particular genre. It has some death metal drumming, lingering nü metal riffs and, of course, scorching-ass breakdowns. Knocked Loose shine their brightest when they follow the beat of their own drum and they do here. The lyrics are also quite gripping. It's about refusing redemption and letting your anger wash everything away. It's arresting.
Moss Covers All is a fun, forty-six seconds long outburst of chaos and anger that climaxes with a horror movie riff and a bombastic breakdown, which seamlessly transitions into Take Me Home. Starting with the same horror movie riff, it transitions into a bass-heavy disjointed and atmospheric song where Bryan Garris and Isaac Hale offer harrowing vocal performances. It's another song on the record that doesn't fit any predefined label. It's some weird, dissonant haunted house metal to have nightmares to.
Slaughterhouse 2 is a collaboration with Chris Motionless that walks a fine line between nü metal and first wave metalcore. It features these mid-tempo grooves where Montionless reminds us he's capable of being as intense as anyone out there. It has some of my favorite riffs on the record. It's bombastic and fun. I liked The Calm That Keeps You Awake a little less mostly because of the weird drumming. It's as powerful as anything on this record, though and it has one of the hardest-hitting breakdowns.
The first single Blinding Faith feels more like a conventional hardcore song at times, which is less my vibe. I like when Knocked Loose mix it up. Once again it has a sledgehammer of a breakdown though and some of the most percussive and expansive riffing. The closer Sit & Mourn is another one of my favorite Knocked Loose songs ever. It has this slow, atmospheric buildup where lonely notes hang in the air before exploding into a half-sludgy, half-screamo elegy for the loss of a beautiful relationship.
It's perhaps the song Bryan Garris' voice is 100% tailored to. Sit & Mourn harnesses the power of anger and self-awareness in a situation where you've become helpless to change anything. That odd, radical freedom you feel when you have nothing left to live for and can choose to check out. It's one hell of a gut check of a song and memorable way to close out a memorable record There's even a breakdown near then end, but it makes you want to cry as well making you want to windmill punch fuckers in the face.
*
You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To is one of the best records of 2024 so far. Knocked Loose planted their flag in the ground and chose violence. You might be a purist that frowns on bouncy riffs and skull-crushing breakdowns, but you gotta be a fucking poseur if your dick remains limp at the unadulterated audio violence Knocked Loose are providing on this record. You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To is an emotional journey and a purge of venom that just feels right. Knocked Loose are here to stay and they’re fun.
