aaamusic | On 28, Mar 2014

Idiom, hailing from the capital of Devon, have been causing a bit of a stir in the Metal community recently with their latest release: Movement. Being a Devonshire man myself, you’d think I would be familiar with Idiom, but bizarrely I’m not; let’s investigate them together.

I had a vague idea about what Idiom might sound like, having read a few things and heard a few things, but I was completely unprepared for this. The first two bands I thought of after listening to the EP are: System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine. They are clear influences. They rap, they have melodic but unconventional guitar riffs, they have powerful drum beats and a bassist that definitely knows his way around the fretboard. Idiom play what many call Nu Metal, but they are a newer breed of this love-or-hate genre.

Title track ‘Movement’  also opens the EP, taking us straight into the Metal, opening with a drum fill then leading to the groove of a heavily distorted guitar and obligatory screamed vocals. Just after the halfway mark, we get an introduction to the melodic side of the band with a sing-a-long chorus; if you don’t start singing along before the song is over, you’re not listening properly.

Another stand-out track is ‘Braindead’ which has strong RATM influences throughout, particularly the verse sections, with interesting guitar riffs and rapped vocals. The screamed choruses make head-nodding an obligation, and I’m sure if I still had hair down to my ribs I’d be swinging it wildly.

Personal favourite ‘Cold Night Run’ shows off the less aggressive side to Idiom, with slower more melodic themes throughout. Fully showing off the vocal talents of Matt Sharland; he does more than scream and rap, he has a soft tone to his singing. The highlight of the EP for me is towards the end of this track, where all the instruments fall silent for a group-sung chorus. You can picture it going down well live, with the whole audience joining in.

This is a highly dynamic and interesting EP, with heavy guitar riffs and strong melodic vocals. Let’s hope that Movement creates a movement of its own and gets Idiom the attention they deserve.

★★★★★

Jake Parker

Check out Movement here: