English industrial duo, Sunswarm, know their music can be dismissed as bedroom noodling or taken seriously as art that breaks rules and innovates. Much of modern industrial follows the former, but IDM artists such as Squarepusher and Autechre prove you can do the latter. Fortunately, Rich Lee-Davis (vocalist and bassist) and Neil Sutton (vocalist and guitarist) set up their tools in a metal paradigm for their debut album, but this is not another failed attempt to replicate Trent Reznor’s supreme songwriting in a Godflesh setting. This is an ambitious attempt to bring volatile dynamics into a genre famous for its one-tempo programming.
The first note of ‘Erasure’ is the sound of an overheated machine blowing out steam, and the slow tom beats that follow are just as ominous. You know there’ll be no escape from this boiler room unless somebody comes to your rescue. The thumping flurry of snares could be the sound of you banging against the walls in manic despair, yet the quieter parts are the moments when you realise your imprisonment is definite. Musically, Sunswarm like to keep you guessing when a regular beat will form, and it’s a grind that leaves you with no hope. Observe how the action retreats into near silence and then rises again with a surge of energy. It’s a clever way to compose music that always keeps you on edge.
You’ll have some reservations about the raspy black metal vocals. These are hostile but manipulated to sound more aggressive than they are at the microphone. The militaristic parade of ‘Sunswarm’ evokes a surviving company of soldiers returning to their homeland in shame in total despondency and with PTSD scarring the way they see their civilian compatriots. Listen to the simple chug of the bottom string in triplet formation when they lock in the beats and guitars. Industrial music is famous for its claustrophobia, but Sunswarm show here that it can also be unpredictable. You never know when the machine will wind down and fire up again.
We often criticise industrial metal for its willingness to excuse poor songwriting behind a vicious wave of noise. Not many artists in this field experiment with contrasting dynamics the way Sunswarm do. Indeed, ‘Inside the Torn Apart’ is a relief because it looks beyond the primacy of ritual repetition. The comparisons with Godflesh are misplaced. This is closer to the early works of The Axis of Perdition in its menace and mighty aggression. Critiquing the songwriting is just as futile when the focus is on transporting you to a world where the downs are a respite from the decadent ups of life. Witness how a simple heartbeat shrouded in minimalist drones and background electronics gives way to a bone-smashing spasm of violence in ‘With Your Beautiful Mind You Deserve Much Better Than This’. You know it’ll return throughout the song but predicting when is impossible. A rare synth arpeggiator weaves its way into the gaps here like an invisible poison.
They don’t always get it right. ‘SOUR///’ threatens to become a pastiche of Ministry’s The Land of Rape and Honey from 1987 but soon finds its mojo in a big beat straight from The Prodigy’s programming software circa 1995. The vocals snarl here like Tommy Victor in Prong’s classic ‘Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck’ and then change into an exaggerated antagonism from the mouth of the West Ham football hooligan. Repeat plays leave you tapping the side of your head with your index finger.
You’re half hoping they’ll go with the same beat, at the same intensity, in closing track, ‘Rended’, in search of a rare blast of metal with no overt nuances. Instead, Sunswarm remind us that the future of industrial metal might be in the start-stop dynamics and the emotions of post-metal. They refuse to give you what your instinct demands, and that’s part of the thrill.
JVB
Verdict
Release Date: 22/07/2026
Record Label: Rabbit Hole
Standout tracks: Erasure; Inside the Torn Apart; With Your Beautiful Mind You Deserve Much Better Than This
Suggested Further Listening: Swans – Cop (1984), The Axis of Perdition – Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara… (The Red God) EP (2004), Author & Punisher – Krüller (2022)