Review: “No Sleep” by Volumes (12th Anniversary)

After dust had settled on 2011’s “Via“, an album from Los Angeles Californian DJentlemen Volumes that is considered to be one of most important in the genre alongside works by the likes of TesseracT, Born Of Osiris and Periphery, no one could have predicted a style shift. However the band brought to the table elements of Nu-Metal, R n’ B and Hip-Hop to blend into their sound and in 2013 “No Sleep” was birthed. That progression was overseen by Brandon Hall Paddock and guitarist Diego Farias in charge, both of whom received credits for production, programming, mixing and engineering.

What makes “No Sleep” and enthralling listen is the diversity within it, the band expanding their horizons musically and taking a number of bold risks that pay off handsomely. The key is that they don’t abandon their roots with a core sound of DJent running throughout, those polyrhythmic bouncy riffs underpinning pretty much everything.

For good chunks of the album the double dragon that is the Michael Barr and Gus Farias partnership go head to head to see who’s savage unclean vocals can outdo the others as well, from the brilliantly effective “The Mixture” to the unhinged “Pistol Play“. But the abundance of clean vocals from Barr who has a seriously impressive set of pipes (and more so on the re-released version) as well as oceans of programming and use of melody really draw out the raw emotional side of things. That’s critical because lyrically the record sits on top of a musings about a broken relationship with the notable exception of “Vahle“, a tribute to a close friend who died in a car accident.

The rhythm section of drummer Nick Ursich and bassist Raad Soudani is as tight as they come, allowing the riffs from Diego Farias to shine although some fans may have felt short changed as the record has two interludes and clocks in at just 33 minutes while others will point to quality over quantity. That’s still longer than most Hardcore records. That being said, the record isn’t without a couple of misssteps, the aforementioned “Vahle” for example being perhaps a verse and chorus overlong and “Across The Bed” suffering from Gus Farias caustic uncleans when it doesn’t really need them.

Overall a fine album from a band who have courted controversy at pretty much every turn while also being fitting part to the legacy of Diego Farias who tragically passed away on 6th February 2020 [8/10]

Track listing

1. The Mixture
2. 91367
3. Erased
4. Better Half
5. Across The Bed
6. Pistol Play
7. Vahle
8. Neon Eyes
9. Peace Of Mind
10. Up All Night

“No Sleep” by Volumes is out 15th July 2014 via Mediaskare Records