Arcadia – It’s ‘Hunting Season’…
Arcadia – Manchester, England, United Kingdom.
This review caught us off guard.
Nu-Metal and Rap-Rock are genres that when many of us were younger – I myself was around 10-12 – had a huge and unexpected rise in popularity that although short lived, has left a lasting impact on music history.
You go into any Alternative music night anywhere and you are at some point bound to hear the likes of Rage Against The Machine, Limp Bizkit, Korn, P.O.D… the list goes on. A list that although faded in time, never stopped playing in the ears of Manchester five-piece, Arcadia.
Hunting Season released at the tail-end of November and is probably exactly what you’re expecting after reading this far.
The opening riffs of ‘Kingpin’ breathe the early 2000’s in such an incredulous manner that the memories of this “dangerous new music” of the time and how it felt come crashing back. The first thing you notice is the musicianship on offer, the band are sonically tight and vocally imposing. Lyrically, again, it’s very on point with the Nu-Metal hey-day and feels no shame towards such but does at times feel somewhat recycled.
‘Reality’ actually boasts a more melodic intro and approach in general but does include a more shredded and metallic approach to the guitar work, adding a far more rhythmic drive to the music rather than just bouncing rhythms designed to do nothing more than support the vocals.
‘Heavy Rain’ leans closer to a more Alternative Metal sound, before a Limp Bizkit/Korn crossover takes charge with a heavy Fred Durst vocal-drone.
As much many will be shaking their head in cliche and sheer nostalgia, there’s far more to Arcadia than that. The band have chosen their sound, well and truly in fact and sonically speaking it’s actually very impressive. The level of commitment and skill for such a young band is solid, even despite the relative simplicity of the sound chosen, or if not that the regimented path chosen.
Vocally, Hunting Season takes it’s interesting spin on a unambiguously US-led genre with the faster Rap-vocals nearing relentless. In contrast with this, the toned-down and calmer “melodic” vocals add a welcome reprieve but lack the presence they should and would do well to be developed further.
With Arcadia you can’t help but find yourself convulsing in erratic movement. It’s hard to deny the groove the band emanate and hard to imagine a stationary crowd live either and with closer ‘My Own Machine’, this image isn’t in any way faded.
Hunting Season knows the risks it is taking, it’s probably aware of the cliche ground it is treading and it knows who it’s drawing from wears said badges with pride. Hunting Season is exactly what it says on the tin, it is Rap-Rock, it is Rap-Metal and it is the apparently un-killable genre of Nu-Metal.
No matter how you feel on this idiosyncratic point in music genre history, it may well be difficult to deny that Arcadia are that bitter pill you need to swallow and Hunting Season the thick liquid chaser with that after taste you don’t want to admit you enjoy.
Find the band below:
- For updates, visit the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- The bands music can be found for streaming on SoundCloud and Spotify with music videos available on their Youtube Channel.
- Hunting Season can be found on iTunes digitally with physical copies and merch found on BigCartel.
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