Metz – Strange Peace (2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/48kHz]

Since releasing their self-titled debut record in 2012, which The New Yorker called, “One of the year’s best albums…a punishing, noisy, exhilarating thing”, the Toronto-based 3-piece METZ have garnered international acclaim as one of the most electrifying and forceful live acts, touring widely and extensively, playing hundreds of shows each year around the world. “Strange Peace”, the band’s third studio album was recorded in Chicago, live off the floor to tape with Steve Albini. The result is a distinct artistic maturation into new and alarming territory, frantically pushing past where the band has gone before, while capturing the notorious intensity of their live show.

METZ seemingly set a new standard in taut, exacting ferocity on their second album, 2015’s II. It was difficult to imagine a band hitting so hard with a similar degree of artful precision, but two years on, METZ have managed to beat themselves at their own game. Released in 2017, Strange Peace starts exploding the moment the opening cut, “Mess of Wires,” kicks in, and for the next 37 minutes the band lays out a nonstop barrage of razor-sharp guitars, rumbling bass, and drums that go off like cannon fire. Strange Peace is a remarkably muscular piece of work, but all the more impressive is how musical this assault can be. Amidst the aural shrapnel of “Cellophane,” one can discover a killer melodic hook and an irresistible shout-along chorus. The space between the ringing guitar lines in “Caterpillar” suggests these guys learned a lot from cutting a split single with Mission of Burma. The relatively languid tempo of “Sink” allows guitarist Alex Edkins to present some finely dotted jangle alongside his clouds of distorted noise. And the brief “Escalator Teeth” reveals METZ could actually boogie if they put their minds to it (though they’re not going to do that for more than 47 seconds). Most of the time, Strange Peace delivers the same degree of bone-shattering fury that has marked their previous work, but as songwriters, METZ continue to evolve, and from a technical standpoint, Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies have gotten stronger, tighter, and more intuitive. And if there were ever a band destined to be recorded by Steve Albini, it’s METZ, and Albini’s engineering on these sessions allows the guitars and drums to be appreciated as individual entities as well as part of an all-out firestorm. It’s hard to imagine where METZ can go after pushing their sound and skills into the red zone as they have on Strange Peace, but with their third album, they’ve left no doubt that they’re one of the most singularly powerful rock bands in North America, and you ignore them at your peril.

Tracklist:
01 – Mess of Wires
02 – Drained Lake
03 – Cellophane
04 – Caterpillar
05 – Lost in the Blank City
06 – Mr. Plague
07 – Sink
08 – Common Trash
09 – Escalator Teeth
10 – Dig a Hole
11 – Raw Materials

Recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio / Graham Walsh at The Woodshed, Baskitball 4 Life / Alex Edkins at The Nursery.
Mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service.

Musicians:
Alex Edkins – vocals, guitar
Chris Slorach – bass
Hayden Menzies – drums

Download:

mqs.link_MetzStrangePeace2017Qbuz2448.rar

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