Review Summary: indie-metal?
The ***ing Champs are in a weird spot. A three piece from San Fransico, the trio’s main style is instrumental metal yet they are often neglected by fans of the genre. With that being said the group has received some acclaim, ironically coming from fans of indie-rock. Tim Green, the bands lead guitarist and songwriter was formerly a member of the noisy punk outfit, Nation of Ulysses. Tim Soete, the Champs other guitarist played in various death metal bands across San Fransico before joining the group. When combining influences Green and Soete came up with an extremely unique, acuate style of math-rock that has not been matched to this date.
Before I say anything else I’d just like to point out that the guitars sound as sharp as a tack.In other words,
VI is one intense riff-fest. Tim Green’s aggressive, jagged guitar riffs weave perfectly with Phil Manley’s snappy, energetic drumming. One of the main aspects that makes
VI such a great listen is how the music will be able to hit a climax without any use of vocals, bass, or electronics. Tracks such as “The Loge” and “Fozzy Goes to Africa” are fueled by hard hitting, razor like guitar riffs that eventually get quicker, fast, and tighter. Most of these songs are driven by abrasive guitar riffs yet the sound does not get monotonous. Manley’s quirky drumming matched with Green constantly changing chords the sound becomes almost unpredictable. Former releases by The ***ing Champs featured a more sloppy style of production, but
VI showcases an extremely crisp, almost glossy sound. As a result the guitar riffs are razor-sharp while the drumming remains sporadic and jagged. The ***ing Champs also throw in some subdued numbers that don’t sound anything like the bands signature sound. “Dolores Park”and “That Crystal Behind You” are two intricate numbers showcasing Green’s calm finger-picking and unique songwriting abilities. After immeasurable changes in pace these two tracks give the listener a nice break from the mathematical, riff based sound.
In result
VI is a captivating album that relies purely on complex, jittery guitar playing. Although there are no vocals present the music has a very rugged, almost punk-esque quality to it. The ***ing Champs fourth release is in my opinion the trio’s most complete sounding to date. Adding crisp production with even tighter guitar playing, the material on
VI is clearly superior to the bands previous material. When recommending other bands that sound similar to The ***ing Champs it’s nearly impossible since the band has such an eccentric mix of instrumental metal and math-rock. Spawning a one of a kind sound, The ***ing Champs have created yet another fluid listen that touches up on many different styles of math-rock.
