This album was released on May 10^th, 2019 on Spinefarm Records.

The rushing wave of new hardcore and beatdown bands (as well as every offshoot of that genre) started with Knocked Loose’s extended play Pop Culture in 2014. Laugh Tracks was released in 2016, and suddenly, there were a thousand copycats trying to recreate the same energy that Bryan Garris barked into existence. Enter Employed to Serve. It’s easy to write them off as another hardcore wannabe until you actually take a few seconds to listen to Justine Jones scream her throat to shreds. This band is one of the very few current hardcore bands that has elevated themselves past their contemporaries with their new album Eternal Forward Motion.

Luke Morton of Kerrang! Magazine summed up this album perfectly when he said that EFM sounds like it would spit in your face before punching you. This album is BRUTAL. There is no letting up from the intensity until the album closer “Bare Bones on a Blue Sky”, and even then, the shoegaze influence that the background provides keeps for a very haunting overtone. With everyone in the band sounding like they want to break their instruments, the heaviness is definitely an accustomed taste. Even the instrumental interlude “Sore Tooth Twin” doesn’t allow any breathing room. There’s a lot of different influences at play on the album: the two aforementioned tracks show signs of post-metal, while numerous songs employ sludge and groove metal influences, namely “We Forgot You” and “Owed Zero”.

The lyrical aspect of this album is an incredible touch to the already relentless album. The themes that Jones expands upon are relevant to society in today’s day and age; concepts like trying to stay content in a world that’s constantly evolving, social media and the myriad of issues that spawn from that behemoth, and the overall anger from the new generation are all prevalent in the eleven-track mauling. Jones shrieks about suicide and depression over the instrumental of “Harsh Truth”, lending the band’s insight into that specific topic as well. This album isn’t just a bunch of pissed-off members; it’s a bunch of pissed-off members longing for an answer to the ever-changing status quo.

As far as hardcore records go, this has been one of the most insane records I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. From the moment the title track started, the passion, vigor, and enraged attitude that stemmed from the five-piece threw me for a huge loop. EFM is an album that stands head and shoulders above its competition, and has the power to inspire a new generation along with it.

Rating: 9/10

Favorite Tracks: “Dull Ache Behind My Eyes”, “We Forgot You”, “Reality Filter”