Knocked LooseA Tear in the Fabric of Life

Whether you’ve been blown away by them on their last few trips down under, or regularly tune into their hate5six sets to marvel at the sheer amount of crowd-killing on display, chances are when you hear the words Knocked Loose you have a pretty good idea of what to expect; total, unrelenting beatdown hardcore with a splash of malice.

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By sticking to their guns, the Kentucky beatdown quintet have seen their stock steadily rising over the past few years, their 2019 record A Different Shade Of Blue landing with the force of a fly-kick to the nads at Unify Gathering.

Being the bands breakout release, there was always going to be high scrutiny on the follow-up, which perhaps explains why the band have opted for an EP in the form of A Tear in the Fabric of Life this time around.

Potentially a dry run of sorts before another full length, ‘Fabric’ ticks all the boxes that fans of the band would come to expect, albeit with a more pressing sense of dread lurking in the shadows, conjured by extra ambience provided courtesy of guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon. 

A mini-concept record of sorts documenting the story of someone wading through ‘extreme grief’, there’s a strong sense of continuity between the tracks, with the rainy radio-frequency soundscape that kicks off opening salvo Where Light Divides the Holler ushering in a Songs For The Deaf like journey through the eyes of the protagonist.

It’s highly unlikely that we’ll hear this band go the way of arena butt rock like some of their more metalcore leaning contemporaries.

Musically, each of these tracks follow roughly the same playbook that the band have made their name from, kicking off in a flurry of double kicks, chainsaw riffs and the occasional pinched harmonic, before building to heaviest possible breakdown to take things home, all overlaid by the distinctive, unsettling shriek of frontman Byran Garris.

However, cuts such as Forced To Stay and closing number Permanent have a stronger sense of musical direction than the Knocked Loose of past releases, with the songs more carefully orchestrated, and the breakdowns more thoughtfully placed.

Ultimately, Knocked Loose have become better song-writers.

It’s highly unlikely that we’ll hear this band go the way of arena butt rock like some of their more metalcore leaning contemporaries.

Growth in the Knocked Loose world may be a matter of doing what they’ve done previously, albeit to a higher standard and in such a way that prevents their music feeling like an exhaustive breakdown-heavy obstacle course. They’ve achieved this on A Tear in the Fabric of Life, and if this is a picture of what’s to come, the next Knocked Loose full length could be an absolute world-beater.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Forced To Stay, Permanent
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