Ruining It For Nobody

With a name inspired by a ridiculous Gary Busey comment, and sporting equally ridiculous song titles, Alabama avant-garde metal group iwrestledabearonce will not fail to catch your attention. And once they have, it becomes apparent that the gimmicks are just the icing on the cake, and this group is anything but ridiculous. With a newly focused sound, the band returns with its sophomore outing, Ruining It For Everybody.

From opener “Next Visible Delicious,” it’s apparent that the band has codified its unique blend of atonal stabs, electronica, and whatever else they feel like into something wonderful. Vocalist Krysta Cameron is in fine form, skillfully blending sweet melodies with creepy whispers and inhuman screams. “Deodorant Can’t Fix Ugly” features metalcore-style breakdowns paired with catchy synth melodies, before the band changes gears abruptly with the trip-hop/dubstep inspired grooves of “This Head Music Makes My Eyes Rain”. Cameron channels her inner Corpsegrinder on “It Is ‘Bro’, Isn’t It?” laying into remarkable death growls that would shame most anybody, and continues the mathcore insanity on “Stay To The Right” and “I’m Gonna Shoot.” Closing out the record is “Button It Up,” combining a narrative about human trafficking with equal parts Behold…The Arctopus and The Crystal Method.

Even though they draw from a vast and, oftentimes, baffling array of styles, iwrestledabearonce has managed to blend all those influences together into something startling, intriguing, and crushingly beautiful. Fans of the band, as well as the avant-garde scene (Dillinger Escape Plan, Devin Townsend, Arcturus) should not miss this for any reason. If you like challenging, unclassifiable music, or are simply curious, pick this one up. There’s truly something here for everyone.