The Qemists – “Warrior Sound” [Album Review]

What is perceived as hard music, rock music, heavy music, whatever you want to call it, has changed over the last few years. There was a time when if it fit the stereotype of what a heavy metal band was about then no rock fan would touch it with a ten-foot bargepole. Over the years though, bands have kept the rock scene exciting by constantly smashing through boundaries so much so that we’re now seeing bands like The Prodigy and Pendulum headlining rock festivals while bands like Enter Shikari are just turning the whole industry on its arse with every release.

Another group who don’t fit the “rock stereotype” are Brighton drum n’ bass metal outfit The Qemists; There are moments on their new album, Warrior Sound, were shit gets really, really heavy. Turning up the dial to eleven on opener “The Jungle”, this is very much a heavy record. Thumping beats, aggressive lyrics and sacks of energy, songs like “Anger” are built to get you dancing just as much as they are there to get you smashing your way through a mosh pit. Made up of the beats of Pendulum and the antagonistic snarl of Hactivist, songs like “We Are The Problem” are vicious little bastards with hooks the size of elephants whereas material like “No More” and “Let It Burn” will certainly find a home with those of you who get your rocks off to genre-smashers The Prodigy.

To add extra firepower to the potency of this record, the band invite members of aggro-crew Hactivist and Japanese dance/metal headwreckers Crossfaith to join in the merriment. It’s a clever move by a band who, judging by the rabid reaction to their live show, have a lot of fans out there and, listening to the blistering diversity of The Warrior Sound, will be smashing down boundaries for a long time to come.

Track Listing:

01. Our World
02. Jungle
03. Run You
04. Anger
05. New Design
06. No More
07. Push The Line
08. We Are The Problem
09. Let It Burn
10. Warrior Sound
11. No Respect
12. Requiem

Run Time: 45:43
Release Date: March 4, 2016

Check out the song “Run You”.