KEN Mode (KEN being an acronym for “Kill Everyone Now”) are undoubtedly one of Canada’s most reliable forces in metal and hardcore, leaving destruction in their path after each release. Their previous record Venerable earned them a Juno Award in 2011 (essentially the Canadian equivalent to a Grammy), and this year’s offering Entrench shows that they aren’t letting up any time soon. With former Minus the Bear member Matt Bayles behind the mixing desk, Entrench is 47 minutes of destructive reign, standing as one of the strongest statements the band has made yet. Lined with pounding riffs, technical drums and Jesse Matthewson‘s excellent range of vocal styles, this is going to be a hard record to put down this year.
As soon as the gates open, you are immediately engulfed in sound. Whether it be an earworm guitar riff, a thick bass tone or a complex rhythm on drums, there is always something happening. The album opener “Counter Culture Complex” sounds at first like a triumphant, down tempo introductory track before it quickly picks up pace and doesn’t let up momentum. Style wise, like much of KEN Mode’s work, it’s an interesting mix of punk’s loudness and energy with the technicality and raw power of metal. They don’t want to be tied into a single genre, and Entrench perfectly proves the malleability of their playing style. While many of KEN Mode’s songs display impressive technical skill, including “Secret Vasectomy” or “Why Don’t You Just Quit”, they are just as good at delivering a slow and brooding pieces like “The Terror Pulse”. By chugging along to an interesting and spacey drum beat, and embellished by Matthewson‘s calculated guitar work. The bass tone on this track is as strong as ever as well, giving the song more texture and Matthewson‘s distressed and passionate vocals only add to the song before bass player Andrew LaCour joins in at the end giving one of the biggest climaxes of the record.
The next single “The Promises of God” utilizes a meandering guitar riff that sounds more like the groups earlier work, but is given a modern spin through a hard-hitting breakdown and some guest vocals from ex-Botch and Narrows vocalist Dave Verellen. While many metal and hardcore groups that use elements like breakdowns can become weathered far too fast, KEN Mode consistently makes use of interesting phrasing and rhythms, which helps to keep their songs engaging. “Daeodon” is a track that shows this perfectly; while it isn’t an overly complicated track, the instrumentation is constantly changing which keeps the song interesting and the ideas fresh. While the guitar work is great throughout Entrench, it stands out the most on the single “Figure Your Life Out”. The song starts out slowly with a simple beat and a thick bassline and quickly evolves into something completely different. With little transition, the track picks up pace with a twangy, dissonant riff and is lined with a stronger, more driving beat. Another extremely heavy breakdown presents itself in this song as well, which effectively increases the heart rate of anyone listening.
One thought continually crept over my mind while listening to this record: how is this only three people? Every song presented on Entrench is loud, busy and powerful, making it hard to believe that only three guys are responsible. KEN Mode, as well as other three piece bands like Ed Gein or Metz continually prove that you don’t need many members to have an extremely strong presence. LaCour becoming a permanent member of the group certainly helped to solidify this principle in the songs on Entrench. Also, KEN Mode’s Juno award hasn’t made them soft by any means; the lyrics on Entrench are angry as ever. With powerful lines like “your heartwarming story makes me sick” being matched with contemplative lines like “I’m unaware of my motivation”, either case adds to the power and sincerity of the songs.
With Entrench being KEN Mode’s fifth album, it seems as if they are going to carry the “Kill Everyone Now” mentality with them until the end, because it is yet another album full of ear splitting riffs and pounds of distortion. While it isn’t as technical as the group’s early work, it shows how they’ve progressed to incorporate a stronger sound, and Matt Bayles helped them to execute it perfectly. With so many different groups today using aggression to power their music, KEN Mode is one that does it with true passion, and it shows.
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