As I’ve written before, I have mostly ignored skramz until I just recently discovered that there’s actually a lot of skramz that I really, really, really, really like. My ignorance of the subgenre was so strong though that I even missed some of the excellent screamo that was happening in my own backyard.

Exhibit A in the case against me is Men As Trees, who would later become Locktender—who I have known and loved for the last few years, but haven’t dug too deeply into their former project (I blame guitarist Andrew Kallicragas’new projects Pack Sounds and JAGALCHI for distracting me). That is, until this reissue, which combines their 2008 LP Weltschmerz with the later EP Sea of Ice Songs (the latter of which was based on the same painter as  Locktender’s Friederich).

As far as my skramz sensibilities are concerned, I gravitate much more towards the sprawling post-rock-influenced side of the genre (read: envy) than the acid-dipped cacophony of bands like Orchid and Saetia. And to that end, Men As Trees are right on the money.

While the two tracks on Sea of Ice Songs are (marginally)  more explosive, Weltschmerz might actually spend more of its runtime in intricate, instrumental post rock passages than screamo catharsis. For the first several minutes, you might be confused why this nice bit of Explosions in the Sky worship is lumped into the screamo pile at all.

But when the dam finally bursts, it’s positively destructive. Men As Trees match the fury of the more abrasive side of skramz, yet those bursts don’t spoil the prettier moments. It’s masterfully balanced, switching between delicate post rock and violent skramz like they were inhales and exhales.

Overall though, it’s just another bit of evidence that I should have been paying attention to screamo way earlier.