Photo Credit: Christoph Eisenmenger
German post-hardcore band Future Palace have released their third album Distortion, following on from their two previous albums Escape (2020) and Run (2022), all released via Arising Empire. It is almost feels like a continuation from Run, as vocalist Maria Lessing writes more deep and meaningful lyrics dealing with subjects such as depression, toxic relationships and inner conflict.
Uncontrolled is a really heavy start to the album, the thrashing guitar work from Manuel Kohlert gives the listener a feel of what is to come. Working really well alongside Maria’s vocals, the chorus is nice and calm with a great drum backdrop from Johannes Frenzel. The band have been playing next track Malphas live for around a year now, and it has gone down really well at the live shows. Released a couple of months ago, The Echoes Of Disparity is a very powerful track where Lessing shares vocals with Charlie Rolfe of As Everything Unfolds fame. The song itself addresses the abuse of power and the oppression of women. This is the best track on the album, both the vocalists are outstanding on this one, Rolfe is the perfect co-vocalist for Lessing here as they attempt to out scream each other. Dreamstate has a catchy synth beat running through it as Lessing sings “I’m in a dream state where nobody needs me.” It’s one of the best on the album, the chorus is very memorable, as are the thrashing drums from Frenzel – it’s a song we keep going back to.
Decarabia is one track we had to look up the meaning of, and we discovered that it is a Goetic Demon associated with transmutation and transformation. The song itself tells a bittersweet story about a couple. In Too Deep is another track that starts off slow, before Lessing thrashes it out on the vocal duties. The chorus is a nice change of vocal range and features the deep lyrics that the band have become known for: “Give me time to breath, coz I’m in too deep/I need to escape before it’s too late.”
“Rays Of Light shine from the sky without regretting life passing by,” sings Lessing in Rays of Light, one of the heaviest tracks on the album. You can just feel the anger emanating from the singer’s voice on They Take What They Want, thrashed out through the lyrics “I will take what I want and not what I need.” These new songs are going to sound so good on Future Palace‘s upcoming tour and this one is right up there with the best of the LP. Closing track Amethyst begins with a hooky guitar riff from Kohlert, ending Distortion on a high.
We were lucky enough to have caught Future Palace play at Glasgow’s Audio venue last October – the band have two upcoming shows at London’s Garage on 5th December and Rebellion in Manchester the following night. If your lucky enough to be in any of those cities you should pop along and see them, you won’t be disappointed.
9/10
Standout Tracks: The Echoes of Disparity, Dreamstate, They Take What They Want
For Fans Of: As Everything Unfolds, Bad Omens, Dream State
Written by: Alan Brown
