‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To’ review: Knocked Loose is on scary hours

Knocked Loose has been known to experiment with every main “core” sound out there. Their projects have ranged from metalcore to deathcore, to having traces of thrash and groove metal in the mix as well. Vocalist Bryan Garris strings the band’s many inspirations together with his unique voice – reflective of the rushed intensity of a hardcore punk singer with the beastly range of a deathcore lead. The formula has certainly worked for them in the past, with both of their previous albums considered to be modern metalcore staples and examples of the heaviest the scene can get. 

While A Different Shade of Blue improved upon a lot of what Laugh Tracks attempted, neither felt very consistent. Knocked Loose will always make a heavy banger, there’s never a doubt in my mind. But heading into their next album, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, I was hoping to find a reason for the heaviness. Knocked Loose has shown a clear and advanced understanding of the sounds they mess with on any given track. However, they’ve always teetered the line between inspiration and imitation. These styles they’re implementing, while never sloppy, can be a little all over the place in terms of album structure. 

The three pre-release singles from the album are “Blinding Faith”, “Don’t Reach For Me,” and “Suffocate.” All songs were equally as heavy and tightly produced, leading to some pretty hefty excitement among critics and fans as it felt that KL was coming back with something truly special. “Suffocate” in particular featured joint screaming vocal duty by Garris and singer Poppy. The latter had already stunned with her transcendent robotic-like vocals on Bad Omens’ “V.A.N.” earlier in the year. This time however, she’s giving Garris a run for his money with some intensely ripping yells.

That’s not to say Bryan Garris is any way phoning it in. This might be the heaviest his vocals alone have ever gone, to the point where it feels like the heavy bass breakdowns and drums  are following his lead. “Blinding Faith” has a pig-squeal scream from Garris that will never fail to make me pause and replay. There’s been a lot of worthy discussion about the breakdown in “Suffocate,” but not enough regarding the entirety of “Don’t Reach For Me.” The hardcore punk aspects are on full display with intense drum beatdowns, fast temp switch ups, and emotionally raw lyrics in this one. 

You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To clocks in at about 28 minutes. Somehow though, this one feels less congested than the rest. I actually feel that half-hour zoom by quicker than I would have liked. YWGBYST feels like a very consistent project, one that knows exactly what it is. In this case, a story about grief and loss told through the guise of a horror project. Garris sings about being consumed by guilt, rejecting faith, and wishing to go back to the way things were.

Each song plays right into the next, giving the sense that there’s a full story here from start to finish. “Thirst” begins with a couple of quiet chimes and the subtle clangs of someone hitting metal. You’d think you were about to hit start on a first-person survival-horror game. Garris’ angry vocals come crashing in like that button was pressed and can’t be unpressed. It really can’t. 

The singles have been placed in reverse order in the track listing, and it honestly works pretty well. I do wish the placements of “Suffocate” and “Blinding Faith” were swapped. The former felt like it belonged closer to the end of the project than the latter. Poppy just felt like she was bringing it home with her verse.

The placements for “Don’t Reach For Me” all the way to “Slaughterhouse 2” are perfect, in my opinion. The four tracks between this section feel like a mini-movie, each one carrying into the next seamlessly. “Miss Covers All” feels like being chased by some kind of unknown entity, represented by creepy strings that sneak in halfway through. Those strings continue into the next song, ‘”Take Me Home,” where it feels like the killer has nearly caught up. Before they can, the song abruptly ends like a bad dream, the outro sounding like an old record. 

This monster feature wraps up with “Slaughterhouse 2,” featuring Chris Motionless of Motionless in White. A sequel to their last team up on MiW’s Scoring The End Of The World. Garris and Motionless go back and forth with heavy, heart-pounding vocals. Instrumentally, it has a Nightmare Before Christmas thing going for it. Huge, orchestral guitar riffs and a Halloween-esque vocal crawl in the chorus. You can tell Motionless brought his love of Burton theatrics with him for this track. The breakdown at the end also gives scary movie vibes, sounding a bit like the sting you’d hear in Psycho or something similar.

“The Calm That Keeps You Away” is a shorter offering. Like “Moss Covers All,” it feels like an intermission before we get to the next big scene. In this case, it’s “Blinding Faith.” I stand by my previous comments, ‘Blinding Faith’ is the only song that feels out of place. It doesn’t even feel like as natural a progression from the previous song to it as others felt. This probably has to do with how long “Blinding Faith” had to sit with everyone as a single, so hearing it this far into the project immediately feels redundant. 

But it also just doesn’t feel like Knocked Loose is winding things down with a song as heavy and energetic as this one. That being said, it still feels like a special spotlight has been put on it. I’d say the three singles, along with “Slaughterhouse 2” and “Sit and Mourn” are the “main scenes” here. The other songs are by no means filler, but I don’t know if I’d enjoy a song like “Thirst” on its own merits. Knocked Loose made an album so much more consistent and intentional than their others, that it almost has to be listened to in full. You’re likely to have a few you love going back to more than the others, but YWGBYST feels so intentional in the way the track list is constructed. 

The last track, “Sit and Mourn” drives this point home. Alone, it’s still a great song. Starting with a gentle humming and a soft, spooky piano melody, this is the wind down I was hoping we’d get to a little sooner. Garris maintains that intensity (because he never won’t) but the song itself is much chiller in comparison. It feels like the final act, with chilling lyrics that kind of leave things off with a bittersweet note. Garris mentions being “brought back by a voice unknown” telling him it’s not his time yet. The final verse sees Garris facing his failures and asking if they and his grief will be “inherited” if he “finally chooses to sleep.” It is a melancholy finish to an extremely heavy album. It doesn’t let off of the emotional intensity even at the very end.

Between A Different Shade Of Blue and You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, Knocked Loose released a few EPs. A Tear in the Fabric of Life and the Upon Loss Singles were well received teasers for what was to come. With both projects, the band wanted to stay mindful of purpose and intention throughout the entire song making process. Those same ideals can be found polished to near-perfection on YWGBYST. Knocked Loose have made an album that I imagine we’ll be talking about with even more reverence within the metalcore scene and beyond decades from now.

You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is out now.

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Featured image courtesy of Pure Noise Records