It feels like suddenly a lot more people have been showing up at my alcoholics anonymous meetings (this AA meeting is one where I pour myself a generous glass of whiskey and wax nostalgia about albums I grew up with). Like suddenly the internet has begun to rediscover, or discover for the first time in some instances, New Jersey's bleak boys in The Banner. And where I was once blasting Frailty everyday for about two years, everyone is suddenly staring at Greying and prodding at it like some fell hellbeast and remembering they've seen this devil before. Good. Finally. They're back. I've been waiting impatiently for this day for six years.
Those that grew up in the early 2000s probably already know who The Banner is. The goth/hardcore-punk/metal tyrants bolstered a heavy fixation on horror themes, depression, violence, and frustration. Their debut EP Posthumous set the stage for a sound that fixated itself more on the breakdown, heavier sounds. With that and Your Murder Mixtape they fit well with sound modern hardcore was so pointedly focused on. However, their second full-length Each Breath Haunted saw the band moving in a darker, more aggressive direction with more leads, hooks and greatly improved song writing. Then they broke up. Then (about a day later) they didn't. Then Frailty came. The sound was crushing, the lyrics were tortured and was my favorite thing to come out that year. That intro track “Welcome, Fuckers”? Perfect. It was gothic, haunting and heavier than hell.
So what's the deal with Greying? Probably a lot of it is, it's not what fans would have come to expect. The Banner have had varied sound and Frailty was a real surprise for a lot of us since it was seeped in metal more than previous albums and clocked you over the head with a lead pipe. If you were expecting more of that with Greying, you're not getting it. Understand that now.
Like Celtic Frost's Monotheist, this album is way more fixated on mood. The layers are darker, the themes are more bleak. From song titles to sounds the album broods and bleeds more than it melts the faces of its listeners. On one hand the album is seems largely cathartic, even accepting. Where Frailty had a struggle to it, Greying is more accepting. Less willing to struggle and more apt to give in and venture forth into that darkness. Though still horrified by its discoveries.
Each Breath Haunted had instances of drone and moody darkness such as “Sovereign of the Black Pit” or “Hell on a Horse.” Greying fully recognizes that and pushes the new vistas down it. With the opener “The Dying of the Light” The Banner immediately submerge the listener in a tar black mood. One will also notice Joey's (a.k.a. JSS) voice has worn in some. Some complain about it, I argue it helps with the mood of the record. Which is tired but still pissed. At times he also sounds like he's trying to emit a black metal vibe. Other tracks like “Send Me Down” or “Sunlight” bring the calm and drone.
When Greying is exploding though, holy shit it is monstrous. The savage stabs of tracks like “Crippling Despair” or “Unbaptized” (which actually sounds like a slice off Frailty) are full throttle killers. Full proof that if The Banner wanted to write Frailty part two, they could. The band has even opted for more blast beats this time around. The bridge of “Circle of Salt” is friggin' awesome as is the intro of “A Quiet Corner.”
As much as I love Greying I'll be the first to admit it's not perfect. A lot of people are going to find their expectations shattered and I'm totally pro for that. I love it when bands mess with listeners (see: Old Man Gloom and the entire discography of Throbbing Gristle) . The Banner's choice with slowing things down feels more like it chops the album into sections which messes with the flow. And if you get the sensation that things are a little schizophrenic, they are. From “Sunlight” to “Send Me Down” you'll notice the album drones, fires a full clip, and then falls back into the drone, leaving the listener somewhere in between the kill and calm modes. In essence, it has a numbing effect.
Greying is a great album and it's nice to know The Banner didn't call it quits. It's an album old fans will have to warm up to and new fans might find disarming. It's their darkest record yet and certainly their most gothic. Thick on melody and drone, but still punchy and heavy. They've taken much heavier cues from the Celtic Frost library with this release (especially, again, Monotheist). Definitely check it out but remember: we're not in the tormenting labyrinth from Hellraiser anymore. Now we've entered the pit.
As always, you can find me here.
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