Anger is important. It’s powerful. Like any emotion you have to be careful how and when you deploy it. In ‘The Avengers’, the Incredible Hulk has a secret; he’s always angry. That’s what he’s hiding. He’s only powerful when he allows himself to open up. Anger Party share that secret. Their name implies anger but their music is more about their expression and their EP ‘Open Up My Brain’ offers a glimpse of what’s inside.
The band describe their music as “inner turmoil,” that’s the hook, and they waste no time in expressing the sentiment; it’s baked into their approach. Combining rock riffs with synths and electronics, their music features heaps of groove and a certain muscular energy. Basically it’s nu-metal, but it’s the other end of that spectrum, closer to Papa Roach or Cane Hill than Linkin Park. In the current musical climate it could be a fairly conventional sound, but Anger Party have something special – personality. The EP’s production, songcraft, the whole vibe is of a band who is sure of what they’re making. And that makes it great.
The five songs here follow on from 2023’s ‘Save Myself’ EP and it essentially doubles the band’s output. Thus, it’s impressive that they’ve found new ways to express their sentiment. Every song features interesting sounds and little details that allows them to neatly sidestep the tired, drag-and-drop production sound that defines a lot of small bands, especially in this style. Be it the gated drums and whirring synths on ‘Hope You’re Miserable’ which recall early Nine Inch Nails or something as simple as the way the songs interact with each other; someone has thought it through. Someone made strong choices and it has really paid off.
‘Hope You’re Miserable’ and ‘Existential Crisis’ are big songs built around repeating choruses. They’re precision designed to be singles and give the EP real clout but when they wrestle with their emotions on the less straightforward songs the combination is dynamite. They unleash the monster on the scrappy, vicious ‘Go To Hell’ while ‘Open Up My Brain’ is an explosive mix of throbbing electronics and percussion that’s so menacing it could be chains rattling in a dungeon. However, it’s the closing track ‘Prey And Obey’ that is most impressive. Using delayed guitars and a swelling, honest chorus it creates a sense of depth where all that anger, all those emotions, pay off. It feels like they’re pushing themselves and as the outro drifts away it ties the EP’s themes together, showing exactly what they’re capable of.
‘Open Up My Brain’ is a strong, confident EP from a band who are in tune with their emotions and know exactly how to express them. The songs might wrestle with the monsters inside but they’re presented like missiles designed to blow your mind.
IAN KENWORTHY