The second installment of My Epic’s two-EP project finds the group unleashing the catharsis that they spent Ultraviolet holding back. And once they let go, they don’t stop.
While Ultraviolet found the group restraining themselves, Violent finds them as heavy and unhinged as they’ve ever been.
When I saw them live the weekend this EP was released, frontman Aaron Stone said, “if I had known what titling an album ‘Violence’ would do to my life, I would have named it ‘Super Happy Fun Time’ or something like that.”
And listening to the album, I believe him. Nothing is held back here, neither musically or thematically. The lyrics are hyper focused on conflict, wearing a frustration and weariness that reeks of authenticity.
On “Black Light,” he seems to admit defeat singing, “it leaves you cursing when you’re trying to pray / this time I think they’re one in the same.” On “White Noises,” he trades lines with Norma Jean frontman Corey Brandan, speaking past eachother like an argument: “pummel my ears till they bleed with ‘clearly’ and ‘obviously;”‘ you always draw the lines with a small scope and a broad stroke.”
Throughout the record, the lyrics often hit a little too close to home living in Trump’s America, beset by Twitter feuds, cancel culture, and increased polarization. The EP is a prayer for peace, set to pounding drums and big riffs.
Musically, My Epic has never been heavier. “White Noises” is as aggressive as you’d expect from its guest star. “Bloody Angles” opens the record with crashing chords and an urgent beat. “Spit It Out” rides a rapid hi-hat shuffle with an anxious urgency that sounds a bit like Bloc Party having a nervous breakdown. “Bad Accents” closes the record with what feels like a bizarro version of “Bloody Angles'” opening riff. Fuzzy guitars crash into eachother with an uneasy dissonance.
There are some moments of reprieve though. “Spit and Blood” and “Tsuneni” (Japanese for “constantly”) pause into the ambient solemnity that underlined Ultraviolet. But their quietness should not be mistaken for peace—these are laments, sighing and suffering under the weight of the conflict.
While each Violence and Ultraviolet are strong enough to stand on their own, combining them into a single listening experience is far more rewarding. Each piece opens up elements of the other that are almost imperceptible when heard alone. The restraint of Ultraviolet tunes the listener’s ear to the subtleties in composition in Violence. The full-blown catharsis of Violence reveals the explosiveness bubbling beneath Ultraviolet’s deceptively calm surface.
But most of all, the two projects display just how masterful My Epic is at manipulating sonics to affect mood. Every second of the whole project is rendered with a palpable authenticity that escapes most artists. It’s a mastery that far exceeds the scope of their influence—though it shouldn’t. These guys need way more attention.