Throughout their existence, EMMURE have always been a topic of controversy and had their ups and downs as far as album quality goes. With their vocalist, Frankie Palmeri, having health issues, (he even got electrocuted on stage back in 2013) and being the eccentric character that he is, the band recently had to go through huge lineup changes, as all members besides Palmeri bailed, leaving him as the sole standing EMMURE unit. You’d think that the band would be over at this point, right? Instead, Frankie pulled a rabbit out of his hat, not only finding a new set of members, but also returning better and meaner than ever with a new release named “Look At Yourself”
Having ex-GLASS CLOUD and ex-TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA members in the band, and especially Josh Travis (that is an ex-member of both bands actually), there’s one thing you can expect for sure. Groove. And holy balls groove is what you get. I just couldn’t stop my head from moving in reaction to the incredibly bouncy chugs and rhythmic patterns. Much like DANZA and GLASS CLOUD, the music is dipped in progressive metalcore elements (I don’t like the word “Djent”, sorry), badass breakdowns and drops that feel like atomic bombs. Come to think of it, if you exclude the progressive metalcore elements, everything else was still there before the lineup changed, except now, everything is better taking EMMURE to a whole different level. Frankie’s vocals are better than ever, although oddly mixed; it sounds like he’s still electrically charged from that time he got electrocuted on stage in Russia.
““Look At Yourself” is the best EMMURE album to date.”
The lyrics hit harder than fucking Hulk on cocaine, as it feels like Frankie is retaliating on everyone that wronged him throughout the years. The drums and bass sound like a well-oiled machine, whose only reason of existence is to bring havoc and annihilation. There is only on filler towards the end of the album, but honestly, it wouldn’t be a filler on most albums of this genre.
The production and engineering is done by Drew Fulk (aka WZRDBLD). The mix itself is weird, but certainly not bad. The instruments and bass drops sound huge, but the vocals, as mentioned above, sound odd. After one or two listens you get used to them and don’t even notice anything is off, but if had to note anything peculiar regarding the mix, it would be it.
“Look At Yourself” is the best EMMURE album to date. These, of course, are the results of getting a group of exceptionally talented musicians together. The improvement in quality that came as a result, is something no one can overlook. This is a band that went from a group that everyone loves to hate, to making everyone look at themselves.