Muck – Your Joyous Future (2015) Review

Hailing from the green paradise of Iceland is Muck. Quite the disgusting name when you think about it, but they excel in featuring filthy riffs and grotesque beatdowns in their songs. Their second full-length album, Your Joyous Future, is out February 24th, through Prosthetic Records. As the quartet describes it, the album is dissonant punk noise.

https://youtu.be/NJF3P7IniXk

And the noise sure is all over the place. Not only in terms of the mixing, but also in the influences of certain songs. “Provoke Me” bursts out of the gate with blast-beats and desperate yells before pulverizing the mix with a vicious breakdown with feedback slipping between the empty space. The complete change in vocal approach between the opening track and the next, “Blasti Mig,” threw me off. The music is still just as frantic, but the low-end raspy singing kind of sounds like moans, which takes away from the punk progression leading the song.

https://youtu.be/ekBe5NEmH-U

At least “My City” returns to the feel of the opening track with pulsing guitars and properly yelled vocals. Muck sounds unstoppable when they decide to be aggressive and let their hardcore influences shine through. “Time” is another example of fury being unleashed with spastic drums and distorted guitar riffs. The next two tracks feature more of the grunge moans again, with clean vocals that are not as captivating as when this band unleashes pure fury.

Thankfully, to clean up the latter half of the album, “Blissess” brings doom and extreme metal into the equation and the low growls help give the track a darker tone. “Here Comes the Man” has a bit of a jazz-rock groove that gets meshed with dark overtones and more vicious screams. The contrast of the bright and luscious chords with the bellowing bass and upbeat drums keep this song fresh.

The Verdict:

With a formidable closer, "Today I'm Hungrier," Muck has proven that they can write great material. At times their experimentation leaves some tracks dull, but more often than not they pull through with great riffs and hardcore tunes throughout Your Joyous Future.