Vim Fuego
Trends come and go in music very quickly. Remember the new romantics? Remember funk metal? Remember Madchester? Will you remember metalcore and emo? Some bands avoid the trends, and just make the music they have always made, despite the current climate. Subtract is one of those bands.
What Subtract deal in is a solid mesh of metal and hardcore, without travelling down the well-worn metalcore path. Add guitarist/vocalist Joel Facon’s massive sub-death metal growl and you have a power packed heavyweight package. It’s something like Merauder or Kreator, or even Morbid Angel at times (compare the opening passage of “Bloodshot” to Morbid Angel’s “Rapture”), but it’s… not. It is just good old fashioned heavy music.
Some bands are scared to show any national identity, instead going for widespread appeal. A couple of Subtract’s songs are truly New Zealand at their heart. “Mark Of The Lion” is the little-told story of Charles Upham, the only fighting soldier ever awarded the Victoria Cross and Bar. A humble farmer before World War Two, Upham distinguished himself in action in Crete and Egypt, and ended up imprisoned at Colditz. On returning to his farm in New Zealand, he was gifted £10,000 by his local community, a fortune in the 1940s. Instead of keeping the money, Upham gave it to the widows and orphans of his fallen comrades. It is an inspiring story, even for non-New Zealanders.
The other Kiwi themed song is nowhere near so positive. “NZOA” stands for New Zealand On Air, a fund which among other things helps fund bands for making music videos. The chances of a heavy metal or hardcore band gaining a grant from NZOA? Nil. Zero. Zip. All the money goes to mainstream pop, hip-hop or bland, safe “rock” bands. This is Subtract’s little “fuck you” to them.
Other than these two songs, Facon’s lyrical stance is both personal and political. There are problems and frustrations with society at large, and no one seems to be doing anything about it.
As a criticism, you could say Subtract need to throw in a bit more variety, vary their tempos a little, or add some more solos. But then, that wouldn’t be Subtract. This is an uncompromising, heavy band doing exactly what they want. Wanting something different is a waste of time.