Album Review: Levels - This Will Make You Feel Again
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
In my quest to seek out new and interesting music that takes me beyond my comfort zone and into unchartered territories, I stumbled upon the latest release from Arkansas four-piece Levels, a relentless crushing machine who refuse to be pigeonholed.
Consisting of vocalist Kolby Carignan, guitarist Jager Felice, bassist Jacob Hubbard and Dalton Kennerly on drums, their music combines elements of metal, pop, drum n bass and dance music, all wrapped around some seriously heavy riffage. The album begins with “Blue Heaven” and has a pounding electronic beat that sounds futuristic as it builds up to the drop, with the vocal mix going from calm to explosive with the greatest of ease.
Whereas the intensely aggressive “Godlike” just goes off from the beginning with rapid drums and guitars, pausing momentarily before the madness continues throughout. There’s the softer vocal and pumping dance beat of the introduction on “Death Dance”, before they detonate the music with full on metal fury. When the beat drops, my reaction is a happy face, as it fills me with joy, exactly what music should do.
As Kolby says, “we don’t create songs, we create experiences” and this is one band who are seemingly intent on pushing you to your limits, and then beyond. “Black Dove” has that same amount of experimentation, as it gives off early Linkin Park vibes, and the juxtaposition of the vocal range is now in full flow. However, it’s the slower environment that stands out for me, as you can hear the melody and a more soulful, tender approach, which “Fume” emphasises before they attack your senses once again.
“Fragile” sees the band embrace their poppier side, and at first it surprises me, but then it kicks into some sort of Ibiza dance tune, and I’m out of my seat again. It’s a 2am club anthem that leads seamlessly into “Feel” which sees a drum n bass line come to the fore, before the mayhem comes back with “Covert One”. This will grab people’s attention, with the frontman saying that their “main priority is to make you feel something” and they’ve achieved that.
Levels take you on an emotional journey, tinged with dark industrial noise and with “Strange Things” it all culminates in a brutal track that will leave your body aching for more. The music is purposeful and stubborn, as they are on a mission to change the terrain with their punishing soundscapes. They finish on a high with “The Grave” as they take you on one final musical journey of moody introspective notes fused together that embraces the here and now as well as the future.
