The Browning – Isolation

The Browning are an extreme metal band from Kansas City, Missouri, Isolation is their third album and follows on from 2013’s Hypernova. Their first two albums were released on pioneering UK based label Earache Records, this is their first release for Spinefarm Records. The Browning‘s music stands out from the majority of metal bands as alongside the crushing metal guitar riffs, pummelling double bass drums and guttural vocals, it incorporates elements of electronica and dance music into the mix. Isolation is also a superbly produced album, the brutal metal is blended effortlessly with the electronic elements, the end result is a perfectly balanced assault on the senses.

I might as well lay my cards on the table at this point, over the years I’ve seen a fair few extreme metal bands live and, much like the extreme end of hardcore punk, I find this is a music that works live, the extreme energy and intensity works in that environment, but, and this is a big but, with very few exceptions I just don’t see the appeal of it outside of a live venue, and to a lesser extent I find that exactly the same applies to electronic dance music.

You can probably gather that this album is not something I would normally choose to listen to, in fact I doubt I’ll ever to listen to it again, but if I was offered the chance to see them live I probably would be tempted. If you’re a fan of extreme metal then Isolation is an album you should investigate, The Browning deserve credit as they have made an album that brings something different to the table in a genre that can be overly formulaic and repetetive.

Isolation is released on the 24th June on Spinefarm Records and can be ordered here