PRESIDENT.
The band that no one had heard of, and yet was on stage at Download Festival. And my word, what a band! If you’ve been living under a rock for the past 6 months, listen to this EP! At only 21 minutes long, it manages to be 21 minutes of a life changing audio journey masquerading as an EP. PRESIDENT are one of those rare outings that only come around every few years, and rip the doors off the music scene. I really thought Sleep Token was going to be the next big thing, but their last album – Even in Arcadia – was such a miss for me. Luckily, we have PRESIDENT here to pick up where they left off.
Theres so much I can say about this EP. Standing at only 6 songs, and less than 30 minutes, its over before it can get going, and leaves you wanting more. Much more.
In The Name Of The Father
The album kicks off with In The Name of The Father – which was technically their second single, and this song really solidified this band for me. The lyrics, on first reading, seem a bit vague, but really listen to them, listen to the way they’re sung, and you realize how honest this song is. That is what grabbed me. This song is so honest, so cut to the bone, that I couldn’t getting it out my head for weeks on end.
“Oh Father
I can’t hear you yet
I want to feel You near
It’s suffocating”
“This is me
Hell, I don’t know where it went wrong
I was chewed out
Spitting blood
Guess I was holding onto dust”
Now the band themselves has not said anything about the meaning of this song, but listen to it and you realize it’s a cry for faith. It reminds me of the Bible verse “I believe, help my unbelief!” from Mark 9:24
Fearless
Fearless was the first song I ever heard and again – it speaks to me because it’s the completely stripped away truthfulness that I really love about metal. Almost no other genre gets this deep into the human condition, and this is exhibit A (at least in this argument).
It super catchy, and yes, the lead singer is trying to hide his voice with the use of autotune, but man, does it ever work.
“Forgiveness is a strength I’m yet to learn”
“I can’t bury my head under the sand and hope it makes me feel less”
RAGE
RAGE didn’t grab me from the start as much as the other songs. It started off way to dancey and it completely broke away from their previous music video style. It also didn’t help that I first heard it via YouTube and features two dancers over the dance beat. Now modern dance is completely not my jam – both the act and the music style. But slowly, and surely, listening to the lyrics, the song grew on me. Again, its painfully honest, and all about a bad breakup. Something universal to all humans to some degree. When the dance music gives way to the real music, its impressive – modern metalcore through and through. No doubt these guys are talented and know what they’re doing.
Don’t expect to love this song from the get go, but give it some time.
Destroy Me
Destroy Me is a song I love. The first single after they announced the EP, and a lot was riding on this song, and we’re completely back to the PRESIDENT we know and love. Another breakup song – hopefully we’re not looking at the metalcore Taylor Swift here… But their next album will have a lot to prove. I love the way they’ve leaned into the autotune completely. Oh, and the breakdown in this song is epic, as is the shift to the slow.
Dionysus
Dionysus starts off as an attempt to be their heaviest song, and yet turns into another dance style track, but not as dancey as RAGE. Yet another breakup song. There’s hints of Djent here in the song which I wished they explored more, but it seems PRESIDENT have a vision for their sound and refuse to be swayed. I can respect that in a band.
Conclave
Conclave is yet another breakup song. What we can take away is that PRESIDENT have an issue with faith, breakups and drinking. I’d say this entire EP is about one girl in particular, which is why its tightly focused.
Coda
The true test for PRESIDENT will come with a full album release, or their next EP. Can they get out of their own way and still be as truthful in their emotions when not signing about breakups? Personally I’d love to see them explore their faith a lot more. I feel there’s an entire audience in this genre that questions faith and where it stands. If we had a band that was truthful with their struggles, we may see something happen here.
In the Name of The Father is my favorite song. Its raw, real and a crying out. And it’s not into the void either. It’s begging for an answer, its expecting an answer. PRESIDENT are bearing their souls here, hoping, waiting, praying for an answer.
“I can’t hear you…
Yet”