First things first, I have to admit that I’ve never been a massive fan of screamo from the start, which is why I was quite pleasantly surprised by Pianos Become The Teeth’s debut full length “Old Pride”.

“Old Pride” is a ferocious album right from the start despite the intro of “Filial” misleading the listener before the full force of the band kicks in with the passion that continues throughout the full duration.
Each song is delivered with a certain amount of drama to it, culminating with “Cripples Can’t Shiver”, a track that on first glance may appear to carry a tasteless title, but is in fact a haunting recollection of watching a loved one deteriorate due to illness. The vocals struggle to be heard over the deep rumble of the bass line that at the same time blankets an arpeggiated guitar riff until everything falls away to reveal a Paper Chase-esque spoken word sample that details a woman’s efforts to cope with multiple sclerosis before the guitars kick back in with a swell of feedback.

“Old Pride” is also a very busy album, but never to the point whereby everything becomes too much to take in. Underneath all the layers of distorted guitars and pounding drums there is often a beautiful guitar line that echoes 90′s emo and it’s this that makes it an album that deserves repeated listens just to try and take in everything that’s going on around you.

It’s through the general busyness that allows the band to meld their ferocity with slow, heavily delayed riffs to create some of the most beautiful soundscapes I have heard within the screamo genre since “The Hollowed Out Chest Of A Dead Horse” by Pg.99, and although it’s obvious that they’re influenced by bands such as Pg.99 and City Of Caterpillar, they still manage to sound original.

Filial

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