Review: Fliptop Box – Anxiety’s Manifest
Jan 28
Fliptob Box – Anxiety’s Manifest
The metal genre has been in a slight flux in the past few years, due mostly to the explosion of experimentation into sub styles and their various amalgamations that has taken place over the last decade. Because of that, we are not necessarily left with any real flagship styles that define the genre, and as a result new bands are left with a broad sandbox to play in when finding their own ‘sound’. Recently, that has resulted in the resurgence of several bygone era’s of music, especially including variants of stoner rock, progressive song structuring, and a healthy throwback scene for classic NWOBHM. Flying slightly more under the radar has been the alternative leanings of the 90’s post-punk sound, which is exactly where Greece’s Fliptop Box comes into the picture with their 2012 release of “Anxiety’s Manifest”.
Album opener Lost is a good introduction for the release as a whole, showcasing nearly everything that will be offered throughout the listen. The backbone of the group’s style is the post-thrash guitar riffing that accentuates itself at times with melancholic chords and high-string leads between punchy rhythm playing. The vocals however, are the forefront of the songs on “Anxiety’s Manifest”, perhaps not sonically, but most definitely in presence and melody. They tend to spread into the background, soaring in their own realm of the mix, while still melding with the music’s chord progression. The singing is consistently melodic and carries a heavy dose of heartfelt emotion, never feeling forced or unnecessary, and they are delivered with a laid back introspectiveness that harkens directly to the shoegazing era of alternative rock, striking the same balance between sorrow and reprieve that the singers of that vein exemplified.
The songs on this album vary themselves somewhat while staying firmly within the comfort zone of post-grunge melody and hard edge that the group has made for itself, ranging from the upbeat and punk-infused like Scarfaced God to the more mellow and thoughtful moments on songs like Wings and Close My Eyes, a song which stands as one of the more emotionally heartfelt on the album. Some moments even have a distinct crossover feel when the energy gets high enough. This variety does not venture too far though, not quite to the point of monotony, but it does prevent any sense of real exploration or experimentation outside of the formula. That formula however, is one the band has seemed to perfect amongst themselves and the album is a strong effort because of it.
For a taste of the alternative outside of a pure vein of metal, “Anxiety’s Manifest” does a decent job of infusing melodic rock aspects with an edge of energy and heaviness. There’s plenty of melody here, driven home with some earnest emotion, and when it is laid over a mixture of textured chord work and after-thrash riffing, the effect works well. Some variety, or more serious exploitation of some of the various components would have offered a more diverse offering and maybe some stand-out moments, but as it is, the album is a fairly seamless experience. And not a bad one at that, especially if you want a good cooldown from a diet of heavy stuff.
6/10
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