Guild Theory recently released "Indignant Swines." Blending a brooding, intense yet calculated, slow-burning fury, "Indignant Swines" is the second single from their long-awaited forthcoming album, The Mellified Man.
There is an undeniable freshness to the main riff of "Indignant Swines," which captures you from the first note, a progressive knot of alternate picking on clean guitars supported by a weighty bass floor. There's an undeniable undercurrent of early-2000s post-grunge nostalgia, but Guild Theory renews the textures, which are familiar but not stagnant. Rather than give in to the urge to ratchet the speed and chaos to eleven, Sustain, Burn work with a more restrained touch, delivering a mid-tempo pulse that gives every component a chance to glimmer with exactitude.
Pulsating drums are weighty and stable, slapping consistently like a thunderstorm passing over an empty field. As they pile on, the vocals slice through the ambient fogtick, wealthy and unapologetically domineering. It's as if "Indignant Swines" oscillates between the lust for color blues, reds, and glowing yellows while still holding.
What I find compelling about "Indignant Swines" is the sonic choices that provoke raw feelings. The control of tempo and the swagger and swells that inform all these carefully wrought aural tapestries elevate their impact. You feel every musical note, every beat, every word. Guild Theory has created a song that not only draws attention but also takes it by storm and embeds itself into their memory long after the last note has played.
With The Mellified Man peering on the horizon, "Indignant Swines" offers an enticing taste of the sonic landscape Guild Theory is constructing as a realm where the dark and the melodic walk hand in hand. If this single is anything to go by, fans are going on a ride that's as visceral as it is unforgettable.