Calvaiire is a four-piece metallic hardcore band hailing out of Laval, France. And while I'm no French speaker (all the songs are in French, and admittedly and unfortunately I'm entirely monolingual) their Throatruiner Records debut is something that anyone can understand and rage to. With Forceps the band presents itself in a stripped, unpleasant and bestial manner.
Upon first listen, Forceps feels like a complete explosion; one driving, violent blast after the other. It feels flooring and uncaged, mixing heavy, frenzied, chaotic energy with melodic/droning elements. Okay, so it's all been done before. People have done such genre melding and welding that exploring new territories in music is akin to finding new land on planet Earth. So? So what. Forceps is an album that is steeped in quality, rather than trying to be something it's not. There's less forcefulness here and more unwinding. Its like listening to someone's raw, violent brain explode through your speakers.
Calvaiire is constantly walking a thin line, ready to burst into flames. Tracks like “Via Dolorosa” or the erratic “Flétrissure” feel like they're wound on a thin string and wrapped around tense muscle. The vocals strain (a la Jacob Bannon-style) and the drums fall in and out of bursts at convulsive rates. The guitar and bass are like electrical shocks throughout (especially those constant blurbs of guitar feedback).
Tracks like “Aux Porcs” delve into heavy trudges and shattering breakdowns, while others like “Simulacre” push punk and metal riffs with screeching leads. All of it culminates artfully and Calvaiire make it sound simple in an impressive way.
Not only is Forceps played well, it's also assembled well. Through and through, tracks feel like they're moving so fast and interestingly that the album is just suddenly over. Well, the last track “Meurtrières” does just cut out at the end, and also adequately captures the sound of what the end of civilization would probably sound like. And features some of the best blasts on the album, including a massive ending before that aforementioned cut off.
Still, Forceps never feels or sounds dull, even when it's slowed down. Which can bring out some song differentiation issues. Songs flow from one to the next so quickly that it's easy to get lost on which track is which. Even after hearing this album twenty-six times I still lose track of what's what. But that's hardly a gripe.
Perhaps for the first time ever I can say a band actually sounds like Converge. Their influence on others has always been felt but never really duplicated. Well, not until now. Really. This is the closest to a Converge record you'll get without it being Converge. It seems like thousands of bands and their record labels compare themselves to Converge but these guys actually have the sound. Hol-ee shit. Add in elements of Birds in a Row (a decent band instrumentally but loathsome lyrically) and some almighty Catharsis and you have Calvaiire.
Also, I've seen some other reviews/bloggers/whatever they wanna call themselves compare these guys with the crust and powerviolence genres. Not any bands in particular, just the genres. Don't go into this record fooled. They don't set foot in either genre and have nothing to do with them. Strictly speaking, this is some extremely fine metallic hardcore with a sharp-toothed edge, but there is no crust or powerviolence to be found here.
Forceps is a very impressive debut album for Calvaiire. Most bands aren't this good by their third or fourth album. The way they break up songs is excellent without sounding contrived and overused. And when the band lets go, they really push a psychotic nature.
While it was released on December 31, 2013, it is no longer able to place on my best albums list but know that it's definitely a strong honorary mention for the year. If you're into Converge at all (I'm not actually), then Calvaiire's Forceps is definitely something you will want to check out. The only question I'm really left with when all's said and done is, when's the next album dropping?
9/10
You can order Forceps or download it for free here.
Twitter: @CoffeeCupReview
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