Bedford boys go full hybrid with five-year project that was certainly worth the wait.
One of the biggest names in the alternative rock space, Bedford-born Don Broco come roaring into a new era with fifth record ‘Nightmare Tripping’ – a euphoric catalyst of nu-metal rock, its dark entourage of scathed riffs and special guests swathe in a blinding era from a band that’s covered so much ground. Welcome to the nightmare.
This isn’t Kansas anymore, Dorothy. The alt-pop colourings on 2012’s Priorities are a far cry to Broco’s latest here. Fourteen years on from their debut, Nightmare Tripping is an abrasive coating of a dark doomsday, as it tackles the unnerving balance between dreams and reality. In a world of far-right smothering, the paralysis demon of Nigel Farage is coming for you unless this album isn’t played on blast.
An spirited patchwork of nu-metal, rock, shoe-gaze and alternative, it careens into every shady alleyway of sub sub-genres, paying homage to the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit. From awakening opener Cellophane to the emotiveThe Corner, the eleven tracks undoubtedly make up the bands’ most star-studded set of songs since Technology in 2018 – voted as the bands’ zenith by the fans. Question is, does it trounce their best?
The first four tracks clear the way in true exertion. Cellophane is a full frontal attack of scratched riffage, behemoth vocals and an historic breakdown. Disappear delivers more of that Technology era while Somersaults is a cathartic release of one’s salad days.
The Nickelback-collaborating title track is one for the ages. The driving force for the albums’ thesis, it unpacks nu-metal filfth and rewraps it in an amouse bouche of Broco at their best, their most experimental. Every part and portion of the track is as unexpected as the last – topped off with an esteemed accompaniment from Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger. Expansive Ghost in the Night whets the appetite with a lavish break, a pit stop if you will, before going gung-ho again. True Believers, featuring Architect’s Sam Carter, is a huge heavy metal washing of vocal prominence and symphonic electronics as they submerge bigoted religious beliefs under the surface, “You might question who your masters told you to do / In blind faith, lies and hate.” I can also confirm that there is at least one iconic Carter blergh in here too. For Sam, it’s not new ground traversing such themes with the likes of Naysayer and Royal Beggars existing in the Architects’ arsenal.
Distorted Pacify Me and Swimming Pools are a blaring sign of more sound, less substance but fit into an album already aware of its state. Hype Man seems the sequel to Thug Workout, a single from the bands’ formative years where fans would drop to the floor and pump pushups in the pit. It’s nonsensical lyrics and phat riffs reaffirm that no fun has been spared in making this record. In another drastic turn, we’re met with The Corner, a deeply impactful curtain-close that presents Amazing Things (2021) ideas with a gloomier outward look.
It’s time to mark Don Broco down as a pivotal band in driving forward a new nuance of heavy metal. With results that dazzle, Nightmare Tripping is a welcome return from a band that rarely misses – as they channel the worlds’ anger.
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