Anyone even vaguely familiar with the British metal scene will have heard of While She Sleeps. Main stage at the Download Pilot, headlining the Jäegermeister stage at Slam Dunk, main support for Parkway Drive’s London show, a sold out night at the 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace — yearned for accolades, all ticked off by one of Sheffield’s premier exports. With SELF HELL, their sixth album, While She Sleeps better get planning for the arenas.
While She Sleeps have always been a band predisposed with exploring the oftentimes hidden underbelly of the psyche: the anxiety, the pain, the depression. They might not have been the first to do it, nor the last, but they’re certainly one of the most consistent. But SELF HELL takes it that one step forward. With a name stemming from the need to hit rock bottom before you can begin to slowly, treacherously climb back up — “before you get to ‘self-help’, when you’re saying it, you have to get to ‘self-hell,’” guitarist Sean Long explains — the parallels between self-improvement and the need for introspection, the shattering of the psyche, become more apparent than ever. Even the album artwork sees the entwined, Caduceus-esque While She Sleeps logo hidden behind a shattered pane of glass, the cracks resembling some eldritch horror emerging from the dark places of your mind.
But what about the music, you ask?
SELF HELL is certainly the most unique, distinctive, and frankly ambitious piece of work produced by the five-piece. There are still moments of the While She Sleeps that you love, the metalcore band that created/inspired the near-ubiquitous, proudly passionate Sleeps Society; opener PEACE OF MIND feels like a bleaker offshoot from SLEEPS SOCIETY, with some haunting choral singing added for good measure, and ENEMY MENTALITY is certainly a classic WSS anthem, albeit one with some electronic beats thrown in for fun. WILDFIRE, meanwhile, would feel like a single cut from any of the past five albums if it didn’t fit so seamlessly into the flow of the album, and DOWN, with its metalcore riffs and Malevolence-featuring growls, feels like years in the making.
Yet, as a coherent piece, it feels fresh. New. And not just the two new instrumental tracks, although the Scottish producer Aether led ambient track, NO FEELING IS FINAL, or the rockier, electronica track OUT OF THE BLUE, are certainly a departure from While She Sleeps’ usual back catalogue. LEAVE ME ALONE flits from simmering rage to frenzied vitriol, all with a dash of nu-metal influences; RAINBOWS, with its melodic chorus, Linkin Park-esque electronic effects, and a guitar solo that seems to take Long’s signature style and add just a dash of Muse, is undoubtedly a new setlist mainstay. Heartbreaking single TO THE FLOWERS, which came with a beautifully poignant short film, meanders between despondent and damning, with Long’s guitar part already garnering praise as an all-time great; acting somewhat of a mirror for the equally emotional closer RADICAL HATRED / RADICAL LOVE, too, the tracks tear-jerkingly grapple with pain. Plus, who doesn’t love an acoustic metalcore ballad?
But it’s in DOPESICK that you arguably find the greatest deviation. Sure, ballads aren’t exactly what While She Sleeps are known for. But it certainly isn’t new ground. The almost shoegaze instrumentals, the voice of Stone’s Fin Power seeming to come through a drug-tinged haze, the Pink Floyd-esque guitar squeals… it all leads to a fantastic example of what musical departures can lead to.
SELF HELL won’t be for everyone. Even for people who love the album, there are bounds to be tracks destined for skipping, left off of playlists. Yet, the delightful thing with this album is that those tracks will be different for everyone. Some will love the electronica encroaching on the band’s signature sound. Some will love the pervading poignancy of TO THE FLOWERS or RH/RL. But no one will refuse to acknowledge While She Sleeps’ continuing quest to diversify, to explore, and to undeniably remain true to themselves, and everything that the ultimate DIY band stand for.
8/10
Standout Tracks: RAINBOWS, DOPESICK, TO THE FLOWERS
For Fans Of: Bury Tomorrow, Architects, Polaris
Written by: James O’Sullivan
