Mercury Killed Newton - The Static/The Wanderer

In the last few years, there’s been a shift in the Leeds metal scene. Whilst there are still plenty of groovy, thrash metal bands kicking about, it’s been technical metal that is becoming a more dominant force both locally and further afield. Leeds bands like On Hollow Ground, Pravitas and Hieroglyph have been intensely active, representing Leeds’ metal scene all over the country and at Tech Fest, the UK’s premier technical metal festival. And all these bands manage to take Leeds’ affinity for anything loud, noisy and hardcore and weave it skillfully into their music. Mercury Killed Newton are no different, and on their late 2015 release The Static/The Wanderer, attack technical metal cliches head on with their hardcore tendencies, albeit to various levels of success.

Although the clean, reverb heavy opening section of The Static may lull the listener into a sense of security, they’re in for a rude awakening if expecting a standard -tech-by-numbers song. Pounding drums and simplistic downtuned guitars explode to provide a solid counterpoint to the clean melodies. Favouring aggressive, roared vocals and hardcore dissonant intervals over clean highs and sludgy lows, Mercury Killed Newton show that they are as heavily indebted to early Architects, Parkway Drive and Every Time I Die as they are to Periphery and Born Of Osiris. Yet the gorgeous, swooping lead lines that appear during the outro - as well as a refrain from the clean intro above a very hardcore breakdown - still allow The Static to soar high above its earthy hardcore roots.

Conversely, in The Wanderer Mercury Killed Newton go to ground, locating their songs and riffs in groovy, syncopated hardcore rhythms. The drumming in this track is particularly powerful, locking in tightly with the guitars through various complicated rhythms and breakdowns. Whilst perhaps not being as effective in reconciling their hardcore rhythms and clean atmospheric guitar lines simultaneously, The Wanderer is a lot more immediate in grabbing your attention, building towards an intense driving riff where guitars, drums and vocals lock in to create a crushing, claustrophobic atmosphere. Unfortunately, after building to this climax, the track doesn’t really reflect or develop on this build-up, instead tossing another reverb-heavy riff out and sapping the song of the energy it had built up. Although some more hardcore riffs and breakdowns means that the ending manages to recapture the previous intensity, overall the song’s dynamics are less focused. The band feel the need to incorporate cliches, despite the fact that their sound is most effective when challenging them. Despite this, I still preferred The Wanderer to The Static - the rhythms that the band employs on the hardcore sections, the syncopated grooves and the heaviness that feels like a black hole through your eardrums, they all work well together to grab your attention, even if the execution occasionally slips.

But the best part about this split release is its brevity in length. Both songs clock in under 4 minutes. Every part manages to speak its piece without overstaying its welcome, and when it risks doing so - or in some cases, doesn't fit particularly well - cedes itself to a new, thoughtful and provocative riff that challenges your expectations. Despite being unorthodox in their approach to song structure, Mercury Killed Newton still manage to keep things short and snappy. These two songs are an excellent indication of the potential the band possesses, and bode well for a future full length release, which will hopefully capture the uniqueness of this group and the scene they have sprung from whilst playing to their absolute strengths. This is definitely a band to watch out for.

http://mercurykillednewtonuk.bandcamp.com/album/the-static-the-wanderer