Sicksense – Funerals EP
Sicksense- Funerals EP
Independent
Release date:25/09/26
Review by Jon Deaux
7/10
Sick Sense don’t kill nu metal on this EP – they dig it out of the grave, add some djent riffs, and send it back to the pit.
Nu metal didn’t die. Instead, it took a ten-year breather, grew a neck beard, started doing lots of squats in the garage, and decided it had to change its name to “nu-metalcore” to be let in. Whatever. Sicksense clearly don’t care about subtlety. Their new EP, Funerals, puts that corpse in a coffin, attaches some djent legs to it, zaps it with enough electricity to make it rise from the dead, and then sends it stomping through traffic again.
Vicky Psarakis and Robby J. Fonts have been bouncing off ideas of each other for long enough now that the dynamics work perfectly. Vicky contributes melody without sacrificing ferocity, while Robby sounds like every sentence he speaks will eventually become a crime. Their interplay creates a constant tension that keeps the entire project from falling apart.
Artificial Irrelevance takes the listener deep into the world of digital addiction without sounding anything like it. Rap-metal verses clash with heavy djent riffs and then explode in explosive choruses capable of annihilating everything around them. This track may not have been made with perfection in mind, but it sure has an interesting concept.
‘Newsflash’ is the track most influenced by the band’s nu-metal roots. Riffs bounce off the walls, the vibe becomes almost obnoxious at times, and all these elements come together in harmony. The lyrics speak of self-empowerment in the voice of a rebellious teenager, before the track falls apart in the outro with a breakdown sounding like factory equipment getting mental problems.
‘Seller’s Remorse’ is the most aggressive track on this EP. It is built on the satisfaction of seeing karma finally getting its due, and balances venom in verses and a surprisingly emotional chorus that doesn’t crush your ribs but leaves you with feelings of vengeance. There’s nothing like revenge fantasies for writing good tracks.
Finally, the mood is lowered with ‘ A Moment of Violence”. This track opens with piano and strings before getting heavier, which gives Vicky an opportunity to show the most vulnerable performance of her career. It is a song about grief, faith, and arguing with a God who won’t answer back. This track never tells the listener how he’s supposed to feel about it, and that’s its strongest point.
Joey Doherty manages to keep in check his influences that include melodic prog, nu metal, metalcore, djent, orchestral parts, and rap. It is supposed to be chaotic, and yet the track flows surprisingly smoothly. Each element of this music has its time to shine, before another riff comes in and takes over.
The problem with Funerals lies in the fact that Sicksense rarely knows when to stop. Each track wants to have one more breakdown, one more vocal part, one more genre twist. At times it looks like the band is putting five great ideas in the same three minutes and seeing which one will win.
Still, excess works better for this band than anything else. Modern metal bands spend their career polishing everything in the hope of getting sponsorship deals. Sicksense do the opposite – put everything they can in the blender and see which elements survive.
Most of it does.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Artificial Irrelevance
02. Newsflash
03. Seller’s Remorse
04. A Moment Of Violence
LINKS:
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