Irish based power rock quintet Afterbliss masterfully combine the roaring stadium energy of a synth pop anthem with the more gritty and frenzied tenets of industrial rock. Recorded and conceptualised during the pandemic last year, their latest album ‘Unknown Machines’ is a poster child for the Irish underground rock scene. Self described as The Killers, Muse, Editors and Manic Street Preachers, all compressed into a one-two musical masterpiece, the group definitely thrives off combination. Their latest project, five songs long, is back to front energetic. There isn’t a low moment, it’s just one anthem after the other. You’re left exhausted by the end, the kind of satisfied fatigue you’d feel after a really good set at the gym.
It’s on ‘Until Sunrise’ that Afterbliss really hit their stride. The opening chords, the electric riff, the defiant and powerful vocal performance, it’s just a jolt of energy that can kickstart a dead vehicle. The song builds with such a pulsating rhythm from the word go, you just can’t take your ears off it. The album’s second track is another notable highlight to revel in. ‘Castaway’ is the most palatial of the albums records, building with a more pronounced and emotive purpose. It’s arguably the album’s slowest piece, more of a ballad than a thrashing headbanger. Yet, that respite gives the album a meaningful moment. The sheer drive and emotion in that chorus, ‘I’m always looking up when I’m not looking down’, has you completely reeled into Afterbliss. As a closer, ‘Kiss & Tell’ leaves you on a high note, yearning for more from this record.
If you miss that kind of rock music that was built off moments, off songs that had an energy that instils youthfulness in you, and just full blooded stadium vibes, Afterbliss is for you.