Band:	Future Static
Album:	Liminality
Style:	Djent, Alternative metal, Progressive metalcore
Release date:	November 24, 2023
A review by:	musclassia

01. Chemical Lobotomy
02. Venenosa
03. Roach Queen
04. Icarus
05. ...And The Walls That Were Built
06. Waves
07. Iliad
08. Will I?
09. The Hourglass
10. Halfway Across The World
11. Plated Gold
12. The Embers

Australia have themselves quite the nice little metalcore/deathcore scene, exporting the likes of Parkway Drive, Thy Art Is Murder, Make Them Suffer, Northlane and Polaris, among others. The next name poised to make waves across the oceans is Melbourne’s Future Static, who are armed with hooks that will sink firmly into your brain.

The five-piece are on the ascendancy, having supported the likes of Jinjer and Voyager, as well as touring Europe. With this upwards momentum behind them, Future Static drop their full debut, Liminality, which is also their first release to feature Amariah Cook on vocals after she replaced Brianna Marsh in 2020. With a style that encompasses djent, melodic metalcore, post-hardcore and alt-metal, plus some added pop sensibilities, Future Static go straight for the jugular on this first full-length outing.

Now, styles such as melodic metalcore and alt-metal rely heavily on the memorability and enjoyability of their hooks, and thankfully Future Static deliver on that front. Right from the off, “Chemical Lobotomy” shows off pleasant post-hardcore guitar melodies and soaring vocals, featuring a big-sounding and instantly memorable chorus. There’s several bands that come to mind when listening to Liminality, including the likes of Killswitch Engage, Erra and Eidola, but one name that’s felt most relevant to me when listening to “Chemical Lobotomy” in particular is Blood Stain Child, and more specifically their Epsilon album; while the extreme power elements and hyperpresent electronics of that record are absent, there’s something about Cook’s vocal delivery, the poppy chorus hooks and the heavy-yet-melodic instrumentation that really scratches that Epsilon itch.

Cook, adeptly supported by bassist/vocalist Kira Neil, is arguably the star of the show on Liminality; the bulk of the album’s strongest moments are delivered by her. On top of “Chemical Lobotomy”, the likes of “Icarus” and “Plated Gold” (which features guest vocals from Make Them Suffer’s Sean Harmamis) easily work their way into your subconscious off the back of their strong choruses. In terms of instrumental standout moments, the technical and muscular djent riffing on “Venenosa” (especially the grim rolling breakdown near the end), the kinetic leads in “Waves”, and Killswitch Engage guitar tones on “The Hourglass” are all particularly.

While the ‘pop sensibilities’ can be considered to be mostly restricted to the catchiness of the vocals, there are occasionally other moments during which they are dabbled with. For example, “...And The Walls That Were Built”, while predominantly loud and technical, does on multiple occasions incorporate trappy electronic beats during lulls. The song that particularly stands out on this front, however, is “Will I?”; although it gets heavier later, the first half eschews metal in favour of an electronic-heavy pop sound. In general, the song doesn’t play to my tastes so I don’t feel overly qualified to comment on it; however, I must admit to finding the screamed rap passage to be quite grating.

Outside of “Will I?”, there’s a couple of other songs that are arguably lesser; the comparatively extreme and at-times thrashy “Iliad” lacks a bit in memorability to the other songs here, while the punky feel of “Roach Queen” doesn’t quite do it for me either. Still, on the whole, this is a very entertaining and enjoyable debut for those with a taste for hook-heavy melodic metalcore.