The release of This World Is Going To Ruin You was marked by some convoluted incident that I'm still not sure represents anything, and more than a week later nothing materialized other than me knowing that I have to mention it and to make some sort of related joke in the teaser phrase. Anyway, it's been almost four years since Errorzone, a realization that did kickstart a minor existential crisis about the passing of time, and in the meantime the band changed their name from Vein to Vein.fm, meaning that every time I search for the band name in the url bar, I'm redirected to their website instead. Though they've gone by this name since releasing their Old Data In A New Machine, Vol. 1 (currently no Vol. 2 out) remix album, this is the first proper album to be released under the new name.
I did mention in my review of Errorzone, that Vein.fm's winning combination is that the metalcore sound that use in their metalcore/nu metal blend is actually more on the chaotic vitriolic mathcore side than the melodic metalcore one, making them sound closer to Converge than Bullet For My Valentine. And this time around the nu metal elements feel even more dispersed, making me enlarge the umbrella term towards alternative metal on this one. Errorzone's nu metal elements were already a risk that paid off, and This World Is Going To Ruin You is more than just Errorzone 2, even if the formula isn't fundamentally changed, just polished a bit as far as dynamics go.
I find This World Is Going To Ruin You a bit more dynamic, but without highs as high as Errorzone's highs. It's a band that is still playing around with their sound and taking risks, even when they don't pay off. Trust me, I'm very reticent about half the alt metal elements here, but with a lot of nu metal revivalism lately in the shape of Bloodywood and Tetrarch, it's much easier to warm up to and appreciate how Vein.fm incorporate these elements. Maybe 2022 is friendlier to alt metal than 2018, despite having to brace through an extra Limp Bizkit album, but Vein.fm's take on the sound this time around feels less nostalgic.
I'm not sure how much I'd love This World Is Going To Ruin You purely on its mathcore merits, because as much as I'm still reticent about the alt metal sides, they do make Vein.fm stand out and "Funeral Sound" shows that the alt metal side can hold its own even as more than just a topping over the hardcore side. And maybe the reason I keep insisting upon these elements is that I'm not sure how much I'd be able to muster about the metalcore side of Vein.fm's sound, other than that it feels even more aggressive this time around.
