Reviews

The fifth and latest installment from The Locust is indeed a step forward from any of their previous releases. In the past, The Locust were known for short, chaotic songs that ended almost as quickly as they started. Insanely fast and complicated guitar and bass, awkward and in your face keyboards, and the unholy drumming of Gabe Serbian are what had defined The Locust up to now. However, the songs on New Erections are each unique and show a strong progression in the songwriting talents of all the members.
 
The album begins with "AOTKPTA," which launches into a classically brutal array of intense drums, sci-fi synth, and edgy vocals and unlike most Locust songs, it manages to pass the forty-five second mark and still come at you hard. The music itself twists and turns throughout, changing timing on a dime and abruptly transforming into a haunting hymnal until its end. The album proceeds to showcase more of this longer, more orchestrated sound. Songs such as "The Unwilling...Led By The Unqualified...Doing The Unnecessary..." and "Book Of Bot" highlight the band’s advancement in maintaining their well developed (and hard to reproduce) sound and the all around musical composition.
 
One aspect of the album that really stood out to me is the now significant and discernable difference in the screams of the three vocalists, Justin Pearson, Joey Karem, and Bobby Bray. Previous albums have had all three doing vocals, but all having very similar bestial screams that mesh into one conglomerate of noise. The vocals on New Erections are far more individual. Their vocal patterns have evolved into three separate entities, Pearson's high-pitched screech, Karam's now lower, more droning bark, and Bray's furious shriek. This triad of vocals adds a fullness to the sound that previous albums had lacked. More emotional connotation can be added by the use of the different vocal styles and sounds, creating an epic arrangement of instruments and vocals coming together to land a savage punch into each ear.
 
The only downside to this album is some songs tends to drone on and long silences in between a few songs kind of takes you out of the experience of the album and sets you back in reality. These minor lapses really slow the album down as a whole, making the listener at times feel impatient.
 
In the end, this album takes The Locust in a new direction but still keeps them right in your face. If you get The Locust, you should get this album.