Some of the bands involved in the nu core explosion of recent years have been content to throw in a few lurching Korn-esque riffs and leave it at that. Tallah certainly have an unhealthy reverence for Bakersfield’s OG scene-leaders that bleeds through the seven-string shenanigans and vocal histrionics. They remain nu metal revivalists at heart, but over the course of their first two albums they’ve increasingly let their own sense of manic invention shine through – a process that continues here.
Following a chanted intro, opener proper What We Know is a standard downtuned lurch. Augmented is more of the same, but with more of the sort of elements that System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian once described in his own band as ‘quacky’: the boings and sproings that sound like Saturday morning cartoons playing through the apocalypse.
As Fate Undoes starts to stray from the path with an industrialised stomp tempered by strings and emo-tinged vocals, and My Primeval Obsession’s proggy flourishes are redolent of Mudvayne or Mushroomhead at their best.
The further Tallah stray from the nu metal blueprint, the better they sound. _lacuna_ scatters acoustic guitars over a mechanistic beat, while A Primeval Detachment is pure mathcore chaos that sounds like a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs.
Max Portnoy (son of Mike) has stepped away from the family specialty of drummer extraordinaire to prove he’s no slouch on bass either. The musicianship is exemplary throughout, in fact, while the sci-fi storyline – this is their third concept album from three – adds its own layers of lyrical interest.
There’s still plenty of Slipknot-style pummelling going on, but Tallah are increasingly spreading their own musical wings. The result is something tantalisingly familiar, but with just enough unpredictability to add a sense of freshness and excitement.
Primeval: Obsession // Detachment is out September 5.
