Album Review: VRSTY – Welcome Home (Spinefarm Records)
New York City-based collective VRSTY (pronounced “Varsity”) are back with their debut full-length Welcome Home, due for release on 19th November 2021 via Spinefarm Records – their first full-length for the label.
VRSTY have been turning heads every since their debut EP ‘Cloud City’ cut a bloody path to the top of the alternative metal charts upon release in 2020. An instant game-changer, VRSTY’s blend of post-hardcore, pop, rock and metal resonated with a lot of people. Making this debut full-length one of 2021’s most anticipated releases.
Here’s the thing, VRSTY’s eclectic sound is simply not going to be for everybody. Even the most open-minded metal fan will find moments, tracks or segments that just don’t work for them. VRSTY are packing these tracks with a lot of different ideas from all spectrums of music, not just the rock and metal side of things. It’s as modern sounding as you could possibly get and will have wide-ranging appeal which is exactly the sort of thing that makes stars out of bands.
Be under no false illusion, this is a star-making album. You don’t have to love it to recognise that. The chatter about VRSTY is only going to get louder and louder. There’s no point sticking your fingers in your ears, there’s no escaping just how massive this band are about to become.
Chances are though, you will love Welcome Home and they sure make it easy to enjoy.
Every single track has an accessibility that draws in the casual listener (often the pop-style vocals) but is then more than happy to pull the rug out. Doing so with chunky riffing, filthy breakdowns and bursts of furious post-hardcore noise. There’s also a lot of bang for your buck here, the album being 14 tracks long and mostly all killer, no filler.
The angle that combines head-spinning electronica, crashing and crunching heaviness, and serenely pop-infused vocals works wonders for VRSTY. Its modern touch and taste has a ton of heart, when it could have very easily come across soulless.
Give this a go. Be challenged and you never know, you might end up finding your new favourite band. Based off Welcome Home, you’re very unlikely to be the only one.
VRSTY – Welcome Home Full Track Listing:
1. Finesse (Ft. Notions)
2. Soul
3. Closer
4. Sick
5. Paranoid
6. Never Again
7. We, Always
8. Welcome Home
9. Love Sick
10. Hush
11. King of Pop
12. Gravity
13. Only Sad
14. 11am
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VRSTY - Welcome Home (Spinefarm Records)
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The Final Score - 7/10
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