Matador began life as a solo project of Canadian guitarist, James Kirk, and expanded into a stable trio for 2021’s sophomore LP, The Surge. They’ve now relocated to Brighton, England, and signed to the UK’s most important metal label, Church Road Records. It’s an inspired move. Album number three is a seamless mix of progressive and post-metal and could be the best thing Britain has adopted from Canada since Greg Rusedski.
The opening to ‘The House Always Wins’ is like watching an atom bomb fall on a city from the privilege of the high skies. The drums refuse to build a continuous beat, instead preferring to accent each lingering power chord until 01:25, when the pressure is too intense to resist. Then the sludgy bass enters, and James Kirk pushes his voice from piercing call into the wind to a black metal disembowelment. The drama will engulf you before you can think about sitting it out as a spectator. Imagine Tool reverse engineered by Isis and injected with the same number of dynamic changes as both. As an opening track, it refuses to settle, and that’s its most enjoyable feature. The layering of atmospheric guitar tones underneath the drop-tuned riffing makes you wonder how only three people can produce something as omniscient.
A sharp intake of breath will help you navigate the grandiose sludge metal intro to ‘Glitter Skin’. Listen how a second guitar pushes through the slow pitch bends with minimal fuss and maximum anguish. You’ll think you’re in a sequel to ‘The Patient’ by Tool during the verse parts as the bass weaves its way through the introspective singing. Seldom is there any space for silence or calm in this song even in the quieter moments. Can you feel the desire to glide as the wave of distortion hits you for a second time? James Kirk does not neglect his guitar as the main vocalist and songwriter here. Observe how his finger movements bar the power chords and work through the fills with unpretentious confidence.
This is not simply the atmospheric sludge and post-metal hybrid that’s so prevalent in cerebral musical circles. Switch off for one second, and you’ll take it for granted that these mellifluous structures are easy to piece together – they’re not. The electricity levels are invigorating in ‘The Flood’. You don’t know how quick you’ll get there, but the path ahead is seamless and shaped by many scenic delights. How often can you close your eyes to a bass-heavy band and feel at ease, knowing you’ll come out the other side a stronger person?
The eerie tonal organ at the heart of ‘A Virus’ is the rare time Matador indulge their love of post-rock, yet a bluesy guitar lead reminds us that this band lean towards conventional rock rather than the abstract. You can sense the tumult brewing in the background and expect it to erupt. The question is when (and how many times)? Laddering rhythms swoop on you like walls closing in, yet Kirk’s powerful voice gives you the oxygen to survive. A final push of hanging guitar blasts, desperate drum fills, and animated screaming at the seven-minute mark frees you from your self-imprisonment. The metallic groove of closing track, ‘Hooks’, is the right way to end things. Imperious, heavy, complex, and yet simple in its delivery, it sees James Kirk exercise his fry screams in alternation with his melodious rock voice. The main thing here is how the trio avoid the trap of being sucked into the monstrous weight of their music. Scott Stronach’s drums are prog in nature, Kirk’s fret work does not just rely on the low-end punch of the guitars. The asymmetrical patterns are a pleasure to absorb before you even think to analyse them.
Matador are aiming for The Ocean rather than the skies, and they show here that progressive post-metal has plenty of distant planets to explore. We should be excited for their next record as well as this one.
Kirk Houghton
Verdict
Release Date: 27/02/2026
Record Label: Church Road Records
Standout tracks: Glitter Skin; A Virus
Suggested Further Listening: Tool – 10,000 Days (2006), Dvne – Voidkind (2024), Wheel – Charismatic Leaders (2024)