Band:	The Offering
Album:	Home
Style:	Alternative metal, Extreme progressive metal
Release date:	August 02, 2019
A review by:	RaduP

01. Waste Away
02. Lovesick
03. Ultraviolence
04. A Dance With Diana
05. Failure (S.O.S)
06. Hysteria
07. Glory
08. Home
09. Violets [bonus]

What would it sound like if Rob Halford fronted a nu metal band that didn't suck?

Just kidding, nu metal doesn't suck. But this one doesn't suck even more. Or even less. Uhh... it's better. And maybe calling it nu metal isn't doing it justice. But honestly calling it any genre wouldn't do it justice. This band was one hell for me to properly determine the styles for. Some people called it power, some prog, some alternative, some nu, some groove thrash. You know what? None of them are wrong. None of them are right either, including me. Whenever I think I figured this album out, it throws something new at me. A growl, a chuggy riff, a Painkiller-era Halford-ism, a Slipknot moment, it's just an endless bag of surprises. Is it healthy to put so many ingredients in one fucking soup?

That obviously only works in the hands of a skilled band, which The Offering certainly are. Obviously I need to give high praises for the instrumentalists for constantly keeping me on my toes with riff after riff, but I really have to give it to Alex Richichi for the incredible vocal performance, which jumps from the aforementioned Rob Halford to Devin Townsend to Hansi Kursk to Corey Taylor, from growling to falsettos to screams to crooning, sometimes in the span of one song. And no matter how much I make the point that the music is diverse in approaches and influences, I still cannot stress this enough. Every song feels like it needs a separate genre tag, and never just one, as each would have to be something like "Alternative Power Progressive Metalcore".

Such a blend, as greatly performed by skilled performers, can still fall flat on its face if it feels like a disjointed Frankenstein's monster of stitched together parts that also feel recycled from greater bands. Worry not, Home feels seamless in its transitions and blends, so much so that as much as each of those come as a surprise while listening to them, they still feel natural and organic. And as much as one can trace each influence, the re-contextualization on Home makes everything feel fresh and vital. Which is the best thing that can happen for a band whose album's review could potentially be at least half comprised of bands and genres to be compared to and labeled as. So I won't bother going into each song and going into specifics, but I have to mention that the band even managed to hold this blend in place for the 15 minutes long closer as well. If that isn't a fucking achievement, I don't know what is.

Honestly, this album has everything going for itself. It was released by Century Media so it got some great production, and the musicians did their share of delivering some of the most mind boggling music I've heard all year. I can't believe I waited this long to review it.