G.O.O.N may have summed up their newest album God’s Only Option Now better than anyone else could: “Hardcore in color.” It shows just how sickening a full spectrum rainbow can be.
The Colorado-ish band (formed in 2015 in Denver, one member hails from there while the band’s other members primarily come from Illinois) released their sophomore album, God’s Only Option Now, on Convulse Records August 2. It rips; it explodes; it’s different. Quantifying this isn’t exactly simple, though. Its members play in some of the most uncompromising hardcore outfits working today—specifically Cadaver Dog—but G.O.O.N.’s weight can’t be measured the same way. Think of it in terms of standard and metric. Similar but ultimately separate.
G.O.O.N.’s brand of hardcore has more breathing room than most. This allows the listener to move inside the space the record creates instead of having their face ripped off by it on sight. But it snarls all the same. It draws you in before locking the door behind you. AP Fiedler’s vocals drip with reverb, adding to this feeling of space. But his delivery is just as crucial, just as direct as others in the genre. It’s an album that encircles you for 19 minutes without respite. It has you do all the work ripping your own face off with its oppressive and madness-inducing aura.
“Ripped,” the album’s second track, captures this balance perfectly. The riff punches fast and often with vocalist Fiedler moving between sneering venom and pummeling howls. The song is over almost before it starts and moves into the screaming “Cherry On Top” before landing in the brooding mire of “Black Egg.” The song coils and writhes “like a snake in the dirt” as Fiedler puts it. It’s a small respite in the midst of the chaos of God’s Only Option Now, but offers no comfort, just time to reflect on the dark place the band has taken you.
Following “Black Egg,” G.O.O.N. again jumps off the cliff with standout “Do It.”
“Don’t write about it, man, if you ain’t gonna DO IT,” Fiedler mocks. It’s both confrontational and entirely dismissive at once. The song churns for nearly five minutes. John Menchnaca’s guitar work shines here—and everywhere else on the album for that matter—and the band adds a lot of other layers of noise that contribute to the record’s grimey ethereality.
In a year that has already seen some incredible releases in the genre—Freedom Sweet Freedom by Regional Justice Center and Every Bridge Burning by Nails to name just two—G.O.O.N.’s latest effort stands out and on its own. It’s singular and begs to be replayed the moment it’s over. The band created a vibrant album that stands in contrast to the mirkiness and predictability hardcore is often filled with. But they did so without compromising drive or intensity. God’s Only Option Now is a breath of fresh air but one that catches in the throat and reminds you that technicolor can be bitter, too.
God’s Only Option Now is out now and you can order it from Convulse Records.
Photo courtesy of Bandcamp
