II

€œI look at it like this,€ METZ frontman Alex Edkins says. €œYou start a band, just as something to do, because music€s what makes you tick, the thing you dream about and think about and that€s it. You never think that you€ll be able to do it all the time. But then, for some inexplicable reason, people actually listen and latch on and the band begins to take on new meaning. All of a sudden there are expectations and pressure, real or imagined, to change who you are. It was important to us, when making this record, not to give in to that pressure.€ What happens when a seemingly irresistible force meets an immovable object is a serviceable metaphor for the music METZ creates, both live and on record. Now behold II, the concussive new full-length from what is arguably North America€s finest touring rock band. Written and recorded in 2014, after two years of constant touring behind their rightly adored self-titled debut, II is METZ at their most true to form€"as pure an expression of what they do as can currently be committed to tape. The guitars are titanic, the drums ill-tempered, the vocals chilling, and the volume worrisome. From the exhilarating grind of €œSpit You Out€ to the blunt-force thrills of €œLandfill,€ herein reside 10 songs as uncompromising in their ferocity and abrasiveness as any collection this record label has had the pleasure of releasing to date. While the band€s debut was often €œclean and clinical,€ II is what Edkins describes as a €œmuch heavier, darker, and sloppier€ affair, with many of its roughest edges and ugliest tones kept intact. Its lyrical matter, Edkins notes, stems from a year of loss and doubt, of contemplating our relationships with death and the planet. €œI consider myself a pretty massive pessimist, but a pessimist who knows how lucky he is,€ he says. €œA lot of things in everyday life drive me crazy: how we relate to each other; how politics, media, technology, money and medication influence our lives. This band, in a lot of ways, is an outlet.€ What we€re left with is the sound of an already monstrous band improving in both subtle and terrifying ways.