Mouth of the Architect – The Violence Beneath EP (Translation Loss)
Monday, 18th March 2013
Their one song “Quietly” (off of 2008’s Quietly) is still far and away the best thing Mouth of the Architect has done and if it was indicative of what the band can do, then we’re still listening. The jam still wrecks our day when it’s busted out. Now pulling out the ‘ole “stop-gap” EP trick out of the bag, the Cincinnati metalgaze quartet return with the mostly satisfying The Violence Beneath EP, another raging slab of crushing sonics and subtle melodies.
On the surface, there doesn’t appear to be a great deal of fiddling with the band’s sound, a trait apparent on “The Violence Beneath.” Some crisp melodies cut across the floor, though, heading off the massive wall of distortion the band is so privy to. “Buried Hopes” doesn’t have much to it; resulting in one of those now atypical unmemorable metalgaze-devoid-of-melody jams, while the live cut “Restore” (a new jam, mind you) is quite large and in charge. A cover of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” closes out the four-song set, straying away from the original for something wholly unique and memorable. Well done.
A bit curious as to why MOA opted for a four-song EP when they could have made an LP with the same number of songs, just by stretching out the length. Everyone else has done it, you know? That being said, these guys are just a notch below Isis and Ghost Brigade, which leaves us pining, wanting, needing another song on par with “Quietly.” That would rule like no other. Get on it.
www.myspace.com/mouthofthearchitect
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)
