There were 3 bands in 2022 that put metal in its various genres back in my heart – Haunted by Silhouettes, Lorna Shore, and American Anymen.
When American Anymen announced their album Rain Falling Up would be released, I was more than thrilled to know 2023 would continue to be filled with their razor sharp and insightful music.
Some might lament that Rain Falling Up is a continuation of where Cities Changing Names left off and I would like to rightly punch those that think that in the throat.
American Anymen incites that kind of violence within me.
Or I should say, American Anymen incites an attitude that refuses to stand in inaction.
As I said in my review for Cities Changing Name, American Anymen is the belligerent and beautiful love child of Ministry‘s Pslam 69 and Nine Inch Nails‘ Pretty Hate Machine. I still stand by that sentiment and it’s a hill I am willing to die on.
Rain Falling Up kicks off with the epic “No Questions”. The track is a raucous number with head banging drums, intricate wailing guitars, and perhaps the most catchy lyrics on the album. The song is a wonderful blend of ‘the need for speed’ and ‘f’ you attitude’. If I had to say a song was built for rock radio, then “No Questions” is that song.
The bass and guitar in “The Business of Dreaming” are to die for but it’s the absolute gem of a tune “Hunger on the Mountain” that is the stand out track on Rain Falling Up.
“Hunger on the Mountain” is an extraordinary blend of metal, rock, and alternative. There are moments when I pick up the groovy blues-esque vibes of Led Zeppelin and the trippy alternative feel of Jane’s Addiction. The song has a deep magnificent groove that the bass and drums ride in like a needle on a record with the guitars grinding and twisting forward with precision speed. The song is both slow and intentional and fast and spontaneous. With each listen, the song just gets better and better.
The title track “Rain Falling Up” is the epitome of what industrial metal is…visceral, guttural, jarring, and thought provoking. In that same vein, “Poetess”, “Animal Law”, and “Nobody Robs a Band Just Once” create a sound that is intense, heavy, and bone shaking.
The song “Love Letters to the Overthrown” is cut from a cloth of swag and ease. There’s a laid back reggae vibe but also an urgent sense that one needs to take action.
The 8 tracks of Rain Falling Up all shine. Don’t skip one. Listen to them all on repeat.
American Anymen challenges the thoughts of those that listen and once again has created an intelligent, hard driving, high octane work of art with Rain Falling Up. In the music and lyrics, the band destroys the definition of what metal or industrial metal ‘should sound like’, and in its place for those that surrender to the destruction, they are taken on a magnificent journey that allows their senses to experience metal and industrial music in a new and exciting way that not only raises the pulse, but raises the frequencies of the brain.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: “No Questions”, “Hunger on the Mountain”, “Rain Falling Up”, “Love Letters to the Overthrown”, “Animal Law”
FAVOURITE TRACKS: “Hunger on the Mountain”, “Poetess”, “Love Letters to the Overthrown”
Cover art by Marching Squares
