Trench BETWEEN INVERTED WORLDS

I can’t even begin to quantify how many permutations of metallic hardcore there are, suffice it to say there’s a shitload and the most resonant ones have entire subgenres named for them. Somewhere between the deathcores, hardcores, and metalcores rests Trench, a Calgary-based band that captivated me with some hard sci-fi/futuristic abstract cover art. I bit - hard - and, despite some misgivings I usually have with this sort of music, found myself having some fun.

BETWEEN INVERTED WORLDS is an acquired taste for someone like me that didn’t have a big -core phase growing up. All my hardcore exploration and knowledge gathering has been well into adulthood, and I’ve been pretty selective with it. One of my favorite songs in this realm is “Hydra” by Fit For An Autopsy - this is likely a dead giveaway that I appreciate the groove this sound can bring and you’d be right. Trench are more atmospheric than groove though, fleshed out in ways that complement their heaviness and grit, well-produced to match the clean, sterile aesthetic of their album art.

They brought friends with them too. Trench collab with members of Comeback Kid, Cult of Luna, and City and Colour on three separate songs. The most immediately interesting one to me is “MY COLD BLOOD” with Cult of Luna, a calculated, dark blast of hot air from depths burrowed into with the previous track, the sundering “CHROME SACRAMENT”. “PATH OF PAIN” with Comeback Kid is the most straightforward hardcore feature by far, Andrew Neufeld’s vocals standing high above Jay Breen’s in register to ferociously spit roast the listener. The song barely cracks a minute, making it a likable taster for BETWEEN INVERTED WORLDS’ dominant energy. Unexpectedly, City and Colour’s contribution on “DUST TO BONE” is probably my favorite one, weaving a more sentimental and delicate song. The ethereal core of the track reminds of the calmer sections of newer Cynic music, holding an air of tender esotericism in between salvos of obliterative instrumentation (final track “BLOSSOM III” plays in these same areas as well).

Trench sound best on their own though, when they’re building a world to entrap you within. “ONE CUT FOR EVERY LOSS” is a favorite, packing a tight, blackened riff in the beginning accented with pinch harmonics and cleaner leads making a massive sonic space for the bone-chipping weight of the band to fill. As alluded to earlier, “CHROME SACRAMENT” is wildly evocative. It’s catchy and heavy as hell with guitar techniques and vocal effects turned up to create a foreboding atmosphere collapsed by industrial elements at the end. It sounds like another vocalist along with Breen, but if there’s another feature, it’s uncredited on my end. Either way, it’s imaginative and shows the band are more than just a swinging hammer slamming into whatever it can. Power is only so effective if it’s scattered haphazardly, right?

What should have been a hard sell ended up being a pretty entertaining endeavor overall. BETWEEN INVERTED WORLDS is short too, likely assisting in my enjoyment of it as it didn’t overstay its welcome at just a bit over 20 minutes and ten songs. It rips, it kills, it fucks, it has elements that evoke the best the genre(s) has to offer, but at the end of the day, this sound just has a lower ceiling of maximum amusement for me. For you though? Your mileage may vary - I will say one song isn’t enough to fully judge Trench like some other bands. This album is nicely varied and the features elevate it to something well worth a try.

Bottom Line: Bias be damned, BETWEEN INVERTED WORLDS is a neat project. Canada’s out in full force with this one (respect to the Swedes in Cult of Luna though), and fans with a penchant for this explosive -core sound will almost certainly find more to latch onto than I did. But if it weren’t for the tension the atmosphere builds and then breaks over and over, it would lose a lot of its luster.