And So I Watch You From Afar's Heirs is a gorgeously distinctive affair

Post-everything mischief-makers expand and sparkle

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Cheerfully scampering around in the confused haze between post-rock, math-metal and experimental hardcore, ASIWYFA have a reputation for being instinctive square pegs, and Heirs will do little to facilitate the pigeonholing that such an approach tends to thwart.

It begins with Run Home, a blizzard of twinkling guitars and prog-tinged vocal jabs that then drifts majestically into more mellifluous territory before returning to a propulsive groove and more fret-mincing dexterity.

These Secret Kings I Know starts like an angular indie rock anthem, replete with more vocals than fans will be used to, but soon morphs into a juddering and explosive wall of chiming chords and stuttering rhythmic twists.

There’s a faint whiff of Mastodon’s thunderous momentum on Wasps and even a discernible nod towards Thin Lizzy on the tolerably sweet Redesigned A Million Times, but while playing ‘spot the influence’ is fun, the reality of ASIWYFA’s musical world is that their ingenuity and sense of mischief are infectious and Heirs is a gorgeously distinctive affair.

Dom Lawson
Writer

Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s.