As a self-proclaimed sunshine babe, I took a break from my recent easy-breezy listening habits to tap into my darker side. With the help of the genre-defying SWARM and his new EP “Eat Me Alive”, I dove in deep. The six-song EP came out last month and explores the depths of darkness that reside in the human mind. The cinematic project listens like a creepy soundtrack to your favorite horror film.
The first track off of “Eat Me Alive” is a short but fearsome introduction into the EP. “Foreshadow” features singer and songwriter, SOUNDR, with a haunting tale of meeting darkness head-on. “Foreshadow” makes for an emotion-evoking beginning to the EP with SOUNDR’s ghostly vocals reeling me in and preparing me for the epic journey into the deep abyss that’s to come.
“There are no devils in hell, they’re in my mind. Awake I am caged, in dreams, I survive”
SWARM and SOUNDR on “Foreshadow”
“Devour Me” starts out as a slow creep until the bass comes pounding through as a mechanical voice demands, “Swallow me whole.” Booming percussion is met with industrious sounds that twist all around the track. The havoc-wreaking tune is finished off with an eerie piano outro that leaves a small space for reflection on the heaviness that has just ensued.
SWARM and TINYKVT pair up for the chilling track, “Devil’s At Your Door” which opens up with the familiar and safe sound of rainfall. Familiarity quickly melts away as TINYKAVT’s vocals taunt of a sinister warning and the dark bass comes knocking on the beat after TINYKAVT proclaims, “The devil’s at your door.” The almost angelic vocals mix well with the smashing progression of the track. Once your heart rate has soared from this song, SWARM brings you back down to the fading sound of rainfall.
The fourth track on the EP, “All Hope Is Lost“, jumps right into pummeling percussion that will get anyone’s pulse racing. As the intensity of the song grows, the deep bass emulates a beating heart. “All Hope Is Lost” pulls components of Metal and Psytrance together for a beautifully composed track. To complement the already ominous track is a gruesome video featuring Brandon Caroll, aka SWARM, being tortured by a wicked blonde for the pleasure of virtual onlookers. I’ll let you see for yourself how things turn out for Brandon but take my warning, the video is not for the easily rattled.
One of my personal favorite tracks off the EP is the aggressively fierce “Black Hole“. The track starts out ominous and builds to an absolutely annihilating drop. Industrial Bass meets Techno with Social Kid collaborating on the song. This is the kind of track that makes me want to trade out my flower crown for thorns and stomp around in a dark Techno dungeon filled with nothing but smoke and moving bodies.
The perfect ending to the madness of this EP comes in the form of “Eat Me Alive“. The last track encapsulates the synchronicity of the EP as a whole. SOUNDR joins Swarm on the track and returns full circle with the same gut-wrenching words from “Foreshadow”. The cinematic genius of this song is undeniable with its piercing percussion and meticulously orchestrated beat. SOUNDR’s chilling voice paired with SWARM’s thought-provoking words will have me pressing replay on this track for months to come.
SWARM came off of an incredible 2019 after being a part of Sullivan King’s Thank You For Raging tour and channeled that fiery energy into the release of his epic EP. While the dark and devilish themes of “Eat Me Alive” run deep, I feel that the message is meant to be taken with a shot of hope. In the midst of unprecedented times of chaos in real life, SWARM taps into the reality of the human psyche and says it’s okay to have a dark side. We can’t have light without dark and being met with music that is accepting of those sometimes taboo thoughts reminds us all that we aren’t alone. You can catch me stomping around in my combat boots next time the opportunity to see SWARM live presents itself.
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*Featured Image Via We The Plug*
