REVIEW: After Smoke Clears - Intentions

After Smoke Clears is a four piece metal band from South London consisting of Nick Hurford

on vocals, Kiran Solanki on guitar, Aaron Dohnt on bass and David Cau on drums. After originally making themselves known as a technical, groove metal band with their 2020 debut 'Edification', the band have exploded back onto the scene with a much heavier and darker sound in this new eight song LP.

Opening the release is ‘Status Game’, featuring Diesect’s Damien Bigara, and it kickstarts the album with not only a plethora of heavy screams, but also a welcome hint of nu-metal. Up next is 'Serenity' featuring Jimmy Dahmer of Asleep At The Helm, which has the most clean vocals of any song on the LP. The contrast of emotion between the clean vocals and the intensity of the screams is captivating, and the combination of their new-found heaviness along with Bigara’s cleaner sound makes for a very powerful, almost Beartooth-esque sound.

We then find ourselves on ‘Chase The Sun’ combining a heavy bassline with layered screams and growled vocals throughout. Next up comes the second single to be released off the album, ‘Animal’, which features Confessions Of A Traitor frontman Stephen MacConville who compliments the track perfectly, blending together his vocals with Hurford's for a potent mix of vocal styles and sounds.

Track five, ‘Fractured’, portrays the most emotion on the album. The clean vocals of the

choruses and screaming of the verses seem to harmonize rather than take separate roles

alongside each other within this track, which makes for a powerful listening experience and will enrapture any fans of 2010's metalcore. Next up is ‘Unintelligent’, which was the first released single of the album and also the heaviest in terms of pure riffage. However, around the 1:20 mark the track breaks down and showcases a nu-metal-esque rap element which was entirely unexpected, but no less enjoyable for that shock factor.

As we approach the last two tracks on the album, ‘Echoes’ and ‘Daze’ continue to give us that metalcore goodness full of heavy drum lines and thick, coiling guitar riffs, paired with plenty of screams. This album is definitely a ramp up for the band compared to their debut, and stands out across the board as having improvements all over. The dark synth and metalcore overtones of this LP keeps the listener engrossed, simultaneously confirming that they are a band to watch out for, most certainly for any lovers of metalcore.

'Intentions' will be released independently on November 19th.

Words: Amy Watson

Photo: Aaron Dohnt