As just the second song to be released in the last 26 years for screamo icons Saetia, “Three Faces Past” comes with some pretty heavy expectations. Now, maybe that’s not exactly fair but stepping away for a quarter century before making a comeback can either cement your reputation as a pioneer or label you as a legacy act incapable of changing with the times. But the screamo faithful don’t have anything to worry about as “Three Faces Past” — and their previous single from last month “Tendrils” — positions the band firmly in the former category.
There’s an earth-shattering complexity here, a collusion of tectonic forces that meet and overlap in unpredictable ways. The track is a sonic colossus that merges the intensity of hardcore punk with the intrinsic melodrama of emo without sacrificing its own unique musical frequency. It’s nice to be able to just throw your head back and feel the concussive blasts crashing against your body. It’s overwhelming and strangely comforting, and honestly, I couldn’t think of a better description than that for the music that Saetia create.
The band shared the following on their Instagram page when the song was released: “Unthinkable trauma reverberates through generations of an immediate family. It transforms transfigures and transcends the way we interact with the world the way we recognize who we are and who we can be. It may be evergreen but it doesnt need to poison everything. We have opportunities to recognize realize and reorder ourselves to meet the most important moments. To those struggling we see you and we know you.“
Listen below.
Tendrils is due out April 25. You can pre-order it here. Follow the band on Instagram.
