A Heavy Single With A Heavy Message from Patriarchs In Black
A new single release from Patriarchs in Black delivers a heavy-handed message along with an edgy, alternative backbone, delivered by doom-style riffs, a gritty tonality coming from those guitars, and robust vocals that come through in powerful layers, delivering just as much of a heavy hand as the rest of the instrumentation does.
This is the track that certainly showcases how the band can write a song that feels absolutely robust from start to finish. It's vivacious, slightly rambunctious, and even hints towards being a bit theatrical, all at once.
I really dig those aspects because it pulls you into the song further. The theatrics and sort of intensity behind the vocals and the guitar really drive the song through the roof and let you pay more attention to the lyrics as well.
This is a track that speaks its mind. There's definitely no holding back in terms of that message being sent, and I feel like it can be interpreted slightly differently, depending on who's listening, but for me, the sentiment was loud and clear.
The song is called "Spoiler Alert", and when I listen to it, I pick up on elements of political backbone and greed. The song really feels like it goes through different characters and showcases how that sort of want for more is taking over.
It's a song that kind of warns you about what's to come. It shows you how, if you look back through history, it repeats itself. A lot of it has to do with being a war machine and how war makes money.
The whole thing is brilliantly displayed in terms of its lyrics. They are absolutely right in your face, they hold very little back, they're totally unafraid, and because of that, you have a really closed-fisted approach from beginning to end.
Once more, you should certainly keep in mind this is how I interpreted the song. Others may take it a little differently than I did, but when I listen to the song, I really pick up on that sort of gears of war keep the money flowing type of element and the overlaying greed coming from the government.
Like I said, you may hear something different.
Either way, this is a really well laid-out track. The arrangement was something that was very well paid attention to, and you can tell there was a lot of thought that went into it because the way it's laid out is very forward-moving.
The drumming is outstanding here. They don't just sit in the pocket, but rather add this electric energy to the track that drives it really high. I feel like a lot of the rest of the band sort of pushes off of that energy, and that's why you're getting such an explosive feel.
As I mentioned earlier, the guitar tone is absolutely stellar. The riffs are sort of bending, winding, and winding. It does have a cross between stoner, doom, and even desert rock, but also blends in that really, really heavy edge in there so that you have something that rumbles and is a bit fierce.
Still, even in the guitar riffs, there's loads of soul going on. Everything has this massive vibrato.
The vocals are laid in with such gusto. You can kind of hear similar vibratos between the guitars and the vocals, so they actually sort of complement each other in such a strange and particular way.
The vocal performance is really outstanding, mainly because he's got such an intense character throughout it all.
During certain parts, he's just sort of yelling, but during other parts, he's really belting out soulful harmonies and building out this lush-feeling soundscape with his voice, and that creates a sort of wall of sound that fills any empty space or void, so the song comes through with a very full-bodied appeal a lot of the time.
The choruses, for example, are absolutely massive. The whole song has this incredible sonic drive to it that is very unique.
At times, those vocals make me think of Mike Patton from Faith No More, for example.
You can tell he knows exactly what he's doing and has mapped out these different sections so that the song hits hard.
At times, the vocals can also feel sort of animated. This is why I mentioned the word theatrical earlier on. The song feels kind of dramatic and robust. Honestly, the whole song has a bit of an end-of-times kind of vibe to it.
It's got a fiery soundscape and message that go hand in hand. I love how they were able to create such a fierce kind of song and build out an intense mood that goes right along with those lyrics.
The single has an accompanying music video that certainly gives you a little bit more of a spiritual or religious aesthetic.
The thing I like about the music video is that it lines itself up with the song in terms of its energy and sort of rambunctiousness.
There is a wildness about the track that comes through heavy-handedly at certain points. It's not sloppy, but it has this sense of high-octane energy, and the video sort of displays that visually.
It's got crazy sort of preachers preaching, a lot of church stuff going on, but there's so much more to it as well. It also showcases a lot of the lyrics, which is important as well. It really helps you keep track of those elements of the song while keeping up with that energy level.
This is definitely a display of how people can write songs that don't hold back. I feel like it's important to have music like this out there, simply because music was partly meant for this kind of thing.
Creating is meant to express yourself, whether that has to do with political views, personal views, or anything else. You're being explicit about really getting your message out there, and this song does the job.
Most importantly, it's a song that displays tons of character. I feel like it's that character you end up holding on to the most throughout the course of the track.
Most would call this a sort of doom rock, but again, I'm hearing other elements of alternative and heavy rock all throughout this track. It's laced and peppered with a slew of influences, and I think because of that, you're getting the best of a bunch of heavier genres in there.
It certainly has its own atmosphere, and it's easy to get caught up in it.
I would definitely suggest taking a deep dive into this one and watching the music video the first time you listen to the song. It really helps soak in those lyrics because you can visually see them, and it lets the song make more sense the first time you listen to it.
Either way, this is a blistering single, and you should definitely turn it up. It's not meant to be heard at a low volume.
Take a deep dive into this track now, and remember where you heard it first.
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