Written By Kevin McSweeney
I’m going to need to proceed with caution in this review, as what I’m about to say might come across as scathing. It isn’t intended to be.
You see, as is the case with many modern metal and metalcore bands, Indiana’s Sakoya deal in heavy, hook-laden riffs and intense but intricate rhythms, but also in polished and highly-processed pop melodies in songs that could be given to Demi Lovato or Olivia Rodrigo to perform without causing their fans to soil their school uniforms in terror.
I want to stress that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. They are breaking no law nor committing any moral transgression by recording songs that might be palatable to a mainstream audience, but the slickness of the production and the sweetness of tone can be off-putting to a grizzled old headbanger like me.
This EP is due to be released on August 21st via Adventure Cat Records. Let’s go through it track-by-track, bearing in mind that, just because it’s not to my taste, doesn’t mean it won’t be to yours.
Sakoya World Gone Crazy EP Review: Track-by-Track
Strangers opens with eight bars of taut, muscular riffing and solid, mid-paced groove, before the verse switches to the kind of gentle, heartfelt vocals and earnest pop sensibilities that I would have associated with Savage Garden back in the 1990s.
Things get heavier in the chorus, but the gentle clean vocals remain. There is a similarity to Circle Into Me by Spiritbox that is too striking not to mention, only it is bereft of anything like Courtney LaPlante’s guttural vocals.
This might all sound critical, but it’s merely an observation. This is a perfectly-constructed pop song, only with loud guitars. It was released as a single in early June, and understandably so.
Some Things Never Change opens with a nü-metal-style riff that bears a strong resemblance to the WWE ring entrance music of Canadian wrestler Kevin Owens.
There seems to be a bit more rasp in Alex Nauth’s vocals than on the previous track. Sticking with the Canadian wrestling theme, his performance sounds a little like Chris Jericho’s with Fozzy.
The processed 6/8 time beat and mild industrial leanings on the verse works well. The chorus is louder – quiet verse/loud chorus is something of a leitmotif here – and it’s catchy.
Once again, it’s a well-constructed song, in which they demonstrate strong pop sensibilities, and it’s obvious why it was selected as a single back in May.
Carcinogen was released as a single in July, and indeed it’s an EP full of singles and potential singles. Its opening riff is a feisty one, bursting out of the traps with ears pinned back and teeth bared.
Unsurprisingly, this gives way to a quiet, melodic verse, followed by a louder chorus, and it becomes ever more apparent why the overuse of this technique is such a common bugbear for metalcore’s detractors.
In their defence, they eschew the equally overused breakdown in favour of a final rousing runthrough of the chorus.
The titular carcinogen is used in the lyrics as a metaphor for not being able to leave a relationship that is deleterious to one’s psychological wellbeing, but they were able to break up with the breakdowns at least.
World Gone Crazy sees the band go full-on Nine Inch Nails, albeit a less vitriolic and more radio-friendly version thereof, and I thoroughly approve of the shift to a more industrial sound. It suits them.
OK, so it doesn’t have the darkness of The Downward Spiral, but I could certainly imagine Trent Reznor berating a: “…world gone crazy/born entitled and raised lazy,” on Pretty Hate Machine.
Actually, the middle section, with its fricative vocals, pulsing beat and throbbing synth bass, recalls Wish, or maybe even Closer.
This is followed by something akin to a breakdown, but that’s OK. The technique is effective when used sparingly. They then return to the rousing chorus and finish the song abruptly. More of this, please, chaps!
Fall Apart concludes proceedings, and to be fair, it’s normally how I conclude my proceedings. The lyrics urge the listener not to give up, despite the tendency of things to fall apart, in a life-affirming message similar to that of The End of Silence-era Rollins Band.
(The lyrics made me think specifically of the song Tearing from the 1992 album.) It’s a little bit gentler than anything you might associate with the burly and bellicose figure of Henry Rollins, however.
It’s probably the most palatable for a mainstream audience of all the songs on offer, bearing strong pop hooks and no discernible trace of venom until the middle eight. Even then, the venom is mild. It brings to an end possibly the most commercially viable release I’ve ever covered for Metal Lair.
So, there we have an EP consisting of four pop songs in a rock format, and a foray into industrial rock that I would encourage them to revisit in the future.
There’s nothing groundbreaking or innovative here. You’ll have heard it before from Spiritbox, Novelists FR or numerous other bands of their ilk.
They do it well, to be fair, but it is very melodic – far more so than the two bands I’ve mentioned there, who have moments of genuine heaviness in amongst the melody.
They come across at times as a heavier version of a rock-adjacent chart act, such as The Script. I reiterate: there’s nothing wrong with that.
If anything, it’s a sign of integrity on their part that they persist with the loud guitars that are keeping them away from the Sabrina Carpenter support slot.
Still, it is a bit too melodic and refined for my tastes. In the immortal words of ODB: “baby, I like it raw!”
Metal Lair awards World Gone Crazy by Sakoya three and a half devil horns
Track listing:
1. Strangers
2. Some Things Never Change
3.Carcinogen
4.Fall Apart
5.World Gone Crazy
Band Members:
Alex Nauth (vocals)
Mike Dobbs (guitar)
Josh Randolph (drums)
Sakoya Online:
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Read More From This Author:
The Larches – Nihilistic Majesties EP Review
Album Review: Exodus Unknown by Imperium
Remembering Lou Koller: The Voice of Sick Of It All (1967 to 2026)
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