2nd October 2022

Review: “Lurid Visions” by Lost In The Current

It may feel like the sophomore EP “Lurid Visions” from Chicago Illinois Lost In The Current has been a long time coming as the follow up to their well received 2019 debut “Suffocate The Wake“, but our eyes may have been deceived as the band shared live footage of a trio of the new cuts as long ago as May 2021. Building on their reputation for a fierce live show, that means that these CJ Rayson produced cuts have been tried, tested and tweaked in the flames of the arena by the Deathcore act before committing them to tape, something which bodes well for the record…

…which is a short sharp shock with five cuts running to just fourteen minutes and twenty two seconds of pure fire. The blood red sea is parted with the neck snapping “Malignant” which finds them calling the two steppers to the stage with a plethora of Metallic Hardcore inspired riffs and a layered vocal of Death growls cut against some shriller tones. The crushing Downtempo finale is the stuff of which nightmares are made and gives bands like Bound In Fear and Replacer a run for their money. Bringing out the click-y loose stringed bass sound that KoRn once called their own on the brutal “Pharmaceutikill” is an interesting change up for a Beatdown Deathcore cut that represents the audio equivalent of a brick to the skull. Front loaded with inspirations from “Punishment” Biohazard era Hardcore, it has an instant appeal while not reinventing the wheel, but the intelligence in the lyrical narrative about addiction is there for everyone to witness as a message that needs to be heard. The longest cut on the record is “Shere Khan” a reference to the fictional Bengal tiger and the main antagonist of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. A chant-able lyrical flow will get crowd interaction during the shows while the final touch of Slam is an interesting move, perhaps suggesting the band are prepared to go heavier in the future. Chugging to life after a classic introduction, “Oppressors” is an absolute beast of stomping aggression that pours fuel on an already raging fire. An absolute powerhouse statement piece of crushing intensity, it sets things up for a the cut glass ending of “The Clearing” a rapid fire blitz of neck snapping stuccato riff infestations and powerful rhythmic pummelling. It may do nothing new but who says you need to do that to have a good time? [7.5/10]