Album Review: On Broken Wings – ‘Disintegrator’

On Broken Wings
Disintegrator
(Artery Recordings)

With all the love/hate for movie reboots, this year has seen some incredible comeback records (Thrice and Novembre immediately come to mind) from bands long thought gone. Boston’s kings of “mosh metal” unexpectedly revived themselves and are releasing their first new work in nine years. Their brand of metallic hardcore had previously fit in well with groups like Every Time I Die and Norma Jean, albeit with a greater emphasis on breakdowns. However, that doesn’t tell the full story because while breakdowns feel overused in 2016, there were a whole host of great bands that got away with math-y riffs and stacking breakdowns on top of each other. On Broken Wings were certainly at the top tier of that list. So how does their return album fare, after almost a decade on the sidelines?

Let’s get the negatives out of the way. Starting off your comeback record with a baby’s cries on top of an extended breakdown isn’t the best way to go (maybe a joke to the band’s detractors?), and basically giving listeners four pointless segue tracks (with a “squeaking bed” bit, no thanks) is a bit of a disappointment. If the band would’ve kept the seven actual songs and called this an EP, this might have ended up as one of the best sub-20-minute bursts of breakdowns in recent memory. However, if you’re here for what On Broken Wings does best, then Disintegrator absolutely delivers, in violent spades. The album strays closer to a beatdown hardcore style than the band’s more chaotic past, but that’s ultimately a good decision. Of the seven actual songs, the sound that comes out is basically a metalcore layer cake, where the band triple-stuffed the songs with excellent breakdowns, one after another, spicing things up with enough neck-snapping riffs and mathy breaks to keep things interesting. Of course, the band’s patently unmelodic (in a good way) singing breaks make their welcome way through a few tracks, like “Quicksand Breaths” and “Rubik’s Cube Obsession”, the latter a particular standout. Disintegrator is impressively varied yet consistent for something as uniformly designed to get the mosh going, but it’s the thrash-loving “Ego Ideal” that stands highest above the rest. The song’s riff to breakdown ratio is just about perfect, and I recommend taking a couple Advil prior to pressing play.

If knuckle-dragging, let’s-start-a-pit-in-this-office-right-now mosh metal has any appeal at all, know that On Broken Wings are not only back, but they’re better than ever. By focusing and honing in on their basest instincts, the band have crafted a gloriously brutal record that almost makes the wait worthwhile. This isn’t fake tough-guy garbage; it’s the type of cathartic music meant to allow you to work through your shit in the pit. Welcome back, guys.

Purchase Disintegrator here: iTunes | Physical