Weaving organic storytelling and an unsullied sense of soul into a genre which is famed for taking delight in the heavy, brash, and fierce is something of a masterstroke that few bands have managed to achieve with any kind of sincerity. Yet that is exactly what Marseille’s metalcore masters Landmvrks have succeeded in creating on their new album ‘Lost in the Waves’. With a title that reflects the feelings of absence and hopelessness that have engulfed many of us throughout this past year, one might expect this record to be softer than their previous releases, 2016’s ‘Hollow’, and its successor ‘Fantasy’, from 2018. However, in places this record is far heavier than anything the band have yet produced, as punishing breakdowns and ferocious screams accompany the melodic undertones for which they are so revered. There is an apathy here, but one fuelled by anger and pain – an apt reflection of the state of the world they have seen warping and changing this year before their very eyes.

That sense of being masters of their own destiny is something that has fuelled Landmvrks from the beginning of their careers. Building a name for themselves off a series of singles following their formation in 2016, the band then embarked on taking their unique take on the metalcore genre to the world. Along the way, they’ve taken in the sights in Japan, much of Europe, and supported While She Sleeps and Stray from the Path on their joint UK/EU jaunt in early 2019. Much of this latest album was written whilst the band were on the road, and their experiences of music culture across the globe has fed into their understanding of how their output is received by the ears in the crowds.

In an interview with Karma Radio last September, vocalist Florent Salfati commented on the band’s relationship with touring in the UK specifically: “We’ve only played in the UK three times, and it’s always just been one or two shows, because it’s much harder for us to get to the UK than it is to travel Europe. But it’s still a known country for us and one where we want to continue to build our fanbase on our next tour.”

Yet casting their eyes back towards their homeland has also been a source of inspiration for Landmvrks when it comes to how their sound has grown across their records. The cities one most often associates with a blossoming scene of heavy music are the likes of New York, London, Chicago and Melbourne. Marseille, on the other hand, isn’t a city that usually makes the cut when it comes to being labelled as a home of underground hardcore talent. Yet, throughout the early 2000s, the city produced a flurry of ferociously talented metal and hardcore punk bands, including the likes of Dagoba, Eths, and alt-rockers Strings of Consciousness. Landmvrks, therefore, have the weight of an understated yet proud musical heritage behind them, and that feeds into their desire to continue to fly the flag for the French heavy music dynasty.

In general, however, the French people’s music taste in current years has been decidedly poppier. In that same interview with Karma Radio, Florent mentions: “I really like pop music – although it does depend on the artist. I think that some of the artists that are doing great at the minute are artists like Billie Eilish, Post Malone, Ed Sheeran – they are great artists doing great things right now. “I also listen to a lot of hip-hop music – French rap and American hip-hop too, which is becoming more like pop music now.

“Rap music and hip-hop music are on the top of the charts in France too right now, but I don’t really enjoy the French pop artists, I don’t think they are on the same level as artists from the US or the UK – it’s very French, but not in a good way! But we have really really great hip-hop artists for sure.”

Reflecting this diversity in influences, ‘Lost In The Waves’ brings with it a dichotomy that is a pleasant surprise. There is no sign of the impenetrable walls of incessant noise that sometimes plague bands striving for the unbridled passion of their youthful days of delving headfirst into the heaviest, most adrenaline-inducing music they could find. On the contrary – there are moment across this record that border on melodic pop-rock, nestled in amongst the grey matter-shredding growls. This balance of light and shade is something Landmvrks have worked on beautifully crafting over their previous releases, and now they have found a balance that is akin to striking gold in the desert – if you are at all invested in guitar-driven music, then you are guaranteed to find that there is something on this record for you.

So, while the record may be titled ‘Lost In the Waves’, Landmvrks’ global exploits have become more of a guiding sea change for their perception of the delicacy with which heavy music can be crafted and produced a stunning record as a result.



LANDMVRKS have announced tour dates for 2021, including a UK/European tour with special guests Resolve and Wolfpack.

Dates:
27.02.21 FR Marseille - Espace Julien
04.03.21 FR Metz - L'Aérogare
05.03.21 FR Mulhouse - Noumatrouff
06.03.21 FR Lyon - CCO
11.03.21 FR Grenoble - L'ampérage
12.03.21 FR TBA - TBA
13.03.21 FR Lille - La Bulle
19.03.21 FR Nantes - Scène Michelet
20.03.21 FR Quimper - Novomax
26.03.21 FR Monpellier - Secret Place
27.03.21 FR Toulouse - Connexion Live

w/ Resolve and Wolfpack

02.04.21 AT Wien - Impericon Festival
03.04.21 DE Leipzig - Impericon Festival
04.04.21 CH Zürich - Impericon Festival
05.04.21 DE Trier - Miez
07.04.21 IT Verona - The Factory
08.04.21 IT Modena - La Tenda
09.04.21 IT Milano - Legend Club
10.04.21 DE München - Impericon Festival
11.04.21 DE Oberhausen - Impericon Festival
13.04.21 UK Birmingham - Asylum 2
14.04.21 UK Glasgow - Garage Attic
15.04.21 UK Manchester - Star & Garter
16.04.21 UK London - 229
17.04.21 BE Aarschot - Jc De Klinker
18.04.21 NL Arnehm - Willemeen Kz
19.04.21 DE Köln - MTC
20.04.21 DE Hamburg - Logo
21.04.21 DE Berlin - Cassiopeia
22.04.21 PL Warsaw - Puglos
23.04.21 SK Bratislava - Kulturak Klub
24.04.21 DE Göttingen - Freihafen
25.04.21 DE Nürnberg - Z-Bau
26.04.21 DE Wiesbaden - Schlachthof

Tickets are on sale here: www.landmvrks.com