EP Review: VRSTY - Cloud City

"If Justin Timberlake fronted Killswitch Engage". Those are the words that accompany this EP, and those are the words that caught my interest. There are so many metal bands out there that write within a tidy little box, it often sounds like every idea has been done before. And since metal isn't always known for being the most melodic of genres, that means it gets rather stale for me. So when I hear this group could be blending a more modern pop aesthetic into the vocals of heavy metal, I'm interested in hearing the results. Lord knows it's better than listening to the twentieth band this year trying to replicate 80s soft rock.

"Massive" does indeed kick things off with a metallic flurry, as the riff jumps out with power and weight. There's a slight bit of metalcore in it, but the song doesn't follow that old formula. In fact, the selling point of this release isn't apparent at all on this song. It sounds more like Linkin Park than anything, and while it's not a bad song, there isn't anything outside the norm of modern metal here. Given the promise made, it's a disappointing first taste of the band's sound.

"Dig" takes us in a better direction. The not quite trap percussion through the verse is a new wrinkle, and definitely plays up the pop sound. It works well against the heavier chorus section, where the heaviness is balanced with the non-metallic vocal lines. It might not quite be as far afield as they want, but it does have a unique feeling. Despite their talk about defying genres, lyrics about Instagram stories and a name with the vowels removed is all entirely rote and played out.

"Shameless" goes further, with even heavier riffs, and even more plastic production in the verses. Now, here's where I can say something positive. If we remember back to the beginning of the year, Poppy gave us an album trying to put modern metal and inane pop together. It was an absolute mess of a record, and VRSTY is an example of how you can put modern pop and metal together without it sounding like torture. Sure, some metal fans might find it torture how the vocals and hook of this song sound like Fall Out Boy, but we'll ignore that for now.

I don't think VRSTY is as interesting as they think themselves to be. The songs on this EP are pretty good, but they aren't all that subversive of where metal is anywhere. If anything, it sounds like a natural extension of where we are headed anyway. That's not a bad thing, but an observation nonetheless.

If I have to sum up this EP, most of it definitely sounds to me like Fall Out Boy playing metal. That's actually more interesting to me than what I was expecting, since Fall Out Boy has fallen into disrepair, and this shows me what an alternate universe could have given us. For that alone, it might be worth hearing.