It’s possible that if I had listened to the title track of Oh What the Future Holds first, I may not have volunteered to write this review, writing it off as just another Deathcore album. As it happens, I played preview tracks 2, 3, and 4 first. The melodic elements of “Pandora,” especially the guitar solo, kept me interested. Then “Far from Heaven” had me fully engaged and wanting to hear the complete album.
So it is, at its heart, Deathcore. But it’s also Melodic Death Metal, with hints of heavier Post-Punk, and dare I say even a touch of Emo. Great riffs, soaring melodic guitar solos, and solid drumming and bass lines throughout. Whatever you want to call it, it’s worth several plays so that you hear the complete picture. Repeated listening as well as other outside influences were key factors in my personal interpretation of this album.
One of the times that I was playing Fit for an Autopsy in my headphones, I also happened to read a Twitter thread about a transgender man responding to how a famous English actor had reached out to him at 18. For some reason, that triggered a whole different meaning surrounding this album. Suddenly, instead of hearing a world filled with death, it was filled with hope for the death of intolerance and hatred. The album became an allegory for transition.
That slight tip in a different direction made me want to absorb, appreciate, and continue listening to Oh What the Future Holds multiple times. It is an album that shows growth from the band’s prior release, The Sea of Tragic Beasts. That was a good album, but it sticks to Deathcore without much exploration of the melodic elements that set Oh What the Future Holds apart. But if you’re going to give an album that title, it better exhibit an expanding horizon.
It’s that growth in the band’s sonic palette that held my interest. While their more traditional Deathcore songs are good, it’s when they shift into the solo and bridge of “Pandora,” and then the opening arpeggiated riff of “Far from Heaven” that the brilliance begins to shine through. That shift shows itself even more in “Two Towers” and the closing track, “The Man That I Was Not.”
So, what does the future hold? Transition from a nihilistic capitalist society into one that actually takes care of all citizens of the world? A world where we can accept and support one another as we are instead of stepping on each other’s backs to get to the top? Or only death? “We are worlds apart. There will never be a light for the black hearts.”
Rating: 4/5
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The Metal Wanderlust 