Review by Kayla Hamilton (@kaylazomboid)

Being introduced to The Gloom In The Corner was one of the most pivotal moments of my 2022. I waited on bated breath for their album Trinity, and since then, I’ve wondered just what they had in store for us. Now, I’m going to be the first to admit that I have been purely listening to the music and I have been a bad fan who hasn’t dived completely into the lore. 

In some ways, that does give me an edge when it comes to reviewing their latest album Royal Discordance, because while I have a loose familiarity with the characters, if this is your first introduction to the Melbourne cinemacore act, you will be coming in with fresh ears and a lack of knowledge. 

Spoiler alert; this album is so good, you will want to become OBSESSED with the lore. You won’t have a choice. After the fifteenth playthrough, the descent into the universe that The Gloom In The Corner’s music is based around will be calling to you…but before I lose you, let’s jump into the album. 

Going in, I already expected that the opening song from this album, ‘The Problem With Apocalyptic Tyranny’, was always going to be a certified banger, but I think I underestimated the lads. The sound of this track is just massive. As always with this band, there are so many little moments that further emphasise the grandness of the sound. They have found a way to combine cinematic scoring epicness with breakdowns, and that is just something you cannot move past in a moment. Vocalist Mikey Arthur wastes no time showing off his diversity. The timpani-style drums make you feel like you are entering a battlefield, and that final breakdown is so crushingly heavy, it truly captures the sound of the apocalypse. 

‘You Didn’t Like Me Then (You Won’t Like Me Then)’ has been in my head since it dropped a little while ago, and I don’t think I will ever get over it. It sort of has that emocore My Chemical Romance catchiness in the choruses, but then opens up to these ridiculous heavy moments. I think this is when I need to share that I am also LOVING the guitars in this latest release. An influx of pinched harmonics, solos and well-written riffs. 

Going from the previous to ‘Painkiller Soliloquy’, one thing I need to highlight in most The Gloom In The Corner releases, but especially so far in this album that the bass is MONSTROUS. It takes up so much space when it is front and centre and adds so much body to all the fast and furious sections. In an era where the bass seems to be overlooked, it is fantastic for it to be appreciated and utilised. Something about the snare tone really stands out to me as well. I can’t exactly put my finger on why I like it, but it just sits nicely in the ear- like a heartbeat pulsing through the track. Before this turns into an ode to the rhythm section, I also need to point out how disgustingly good this breakdown is. Thrashy riffs, guitar squeals and just overall nasty, before leading back into a catchy as hell chorus…only to go into yet ANOTHER sick breakdown. As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of metalcore, I’ve heard my fair share of breakdowns, so it’s always sick when I get surprised. 

Have we mentioned cinematic? Because truly that is at the core of The Gloom In The Corner’s songwriting, and ‘Short-Range Teleportation (A Guide To Guerilla Warfare)’ is the sonic proof. I often have to remind myself I’m not listening to a movie soundtrack or score, because I can vividly visualise the pictures that these songs are painting. The balance between melancholic beauty and unbridled brutality in this song gives me chills. If there is any band I would love to see perform with an orchestra, it would be this band, and this song would NEED to be on the setlist. The piano and stripped-down fade out is the perfect ending, especially as it leads into ‘Nope (Hollow Point Elysium)’.

The build-up is masterful, and I can’t help but smile hearing a very Australian “nope” in there. This has the makings of a Disney Villain theme song, if Disney grew some balls. It has a cartoonesque darkness in a Sin City kind of way, blended with a Baz Luhrmann level of musical theatre theatrics, while somehow keeping it’s gritt. It’s dramatic, it’s epic and it draws you into the world that the story of the album follows wonderfully. I would love to see an animated movie based on these stories, and if this happened, I know this song would be my favourite scene.

Now, if I mentioned that ‘You Didn’t Like Me Then (You Won’t Like Me Then)’ has been stuck in my head for a little bit, the song it replaced was none other than ‘Angel’s Wrath Whiskey’. This song, in its verses, is everything that I fell in love with Gloom for, but then it took an unexpected twist. Initially, I was surprised at the almost softer, melodic quality to it, and this is another song that gives me that MCR feel- and I’m not mad about it. That chorus is such an earworm, but that breakdown/hook section is just *chef’s kiss*. The strings? Masterpiece. To say I love this song is an understatement. I can’t express it in any more flowery language; it’s just a damn good song. 

I don’t think that, as a music scene, we talk about how good a singer Mikey Arthur is. Not only that, lyricist and storyteller as well. I feel like he is Australia’s most hidden gem. I know The Gloom In The Corner has toured internationally, but I don’t think we give him enough flowers or talk about him enough. ‘Shadowy Rhapsody II’ really shows off his singing chops, and it really hits the mark for a “metalcore” ballad. The soundscapes and sonic palette that make up this track are simply stunning as well. Perhaps I’m just a sucker for a good heavy ballad. That final heavy crescendo is spine-tingling, and just when you think it’s done, it has more in it. We desperately need a TGIC headline tour because I need to hear this live. I can see why this didn’t really make it as a single, but it is definitely to me the sleeper hit of the album.

The way it leads into ‘Assassination Run’ is phenomenal. After first hearing this live back when they toured with Hanabie. in 2024, I was hoping recorded that it would pack the same punch as it does live…and hell yeah it does. No matter how heavy this band goes, they always include sections of fun groove. You also don’t often hear artists drop c-bombs in this way very often, but honestly, it works so damn well in this instance. It isn’t done to be ‘edgy’, it fits the characterisation of the voice singing and works with the narrative. It’s just a damn good, heavy, hard-hitting track, and there really isn’t much else to say.

With an album of this length, there is a worry that some songs could become filler but as it plays out, it is like opening a new gift. ‘That’s Life (Carry Me Home)’ was an instant addition to the everyday playlist. Kicking off with this wide west, saloon door kicking down intro and giving us a new song to clap to, it warms my inner emo kid heart. The chorus-style backing vocals add a new element. Gang vocals don’t feel like the right way to describe them; it’s like a classic play where the chorus helps tell the story. What really surprised me with this album, I know it shouldn’t, but it did (especially with the trends in modern metalcore), is just how bloody catchy the choruses are. This track, along with so many others, has that real sing-along chorus quality that you know will have a live audience singing together. Of course, it finishes up with a heavy moment, which takes it into new territory, flowing seamlessly into ‘Army Of Darkness’.

Heavy artillery style drumming with vicious vocals, it feels like we are heading into fast, furious and ferocious territory. In class Gloom fashion, though, we are taken on a melodic detour before throwing us mercilessly into some of the heaviest moments of the album. Those pinched harmonics have imprinted on my brain. Again, love a smartly placed little solo and cinematic soundbyte before a ridiculously heavy breakdown, only to let the guitar loose again as if it’s playing tug of war with the rhythm section over who can leave the listener with the dankest stank face. 

Finishing with a piano moment is giving us a breather after that hectic wave, leaving us to float into ‘Love I: A Quaver Through The Pale’. Perhaps a moment to breathe is not the best description, because focusing on the story, we are at the emotional crux of the album. We also threw around the term ballad before, but ‘Love I: A Quaver Through The Pale’ ups the ante, entering real power ballad territory. Again, well-placed and like any good storytelling, it creates a new tension and heartache with an undertone of sick guitar solos. 

‘Love II: A Walk Amongst The Poppy Fields’ is where the story of this album comes to the end. The climax. Where all the elements, storylines and soundscapes come together. A finale, but it is not a quick wrap-up. A song of loss, reflection and pain, the imagery invoked by both the lyrics and music would make this the ultimate last season of an anime opening. A stunning and epic end to a masterpiece of an album, one that leaves you satisfied but also wanting to know more about the next chapter in the story. 

We don’t do album ratings anymore on NOISE ’N’ VISUALS for various reasons, but I have to make an exception here because there is nothing else to say other than this is a 10/10 release. So early in the year, setting the bar high but in an era where full-length albums almost seem to be rather ambitious, Royal Discordance is truly a work of art. Storytelling, musicianship and overall songwriting quality are both technically and creatively brilliant.

The Gloom In The Corner, you have outdone yourself. 

You deserve all the flowers.

_{Royal Discordance is out now via Sharptone Records}

_{Stream it here.}