Narcissus

    Narcissus

    Cleveland, Ohio12 reviews across 4 releases

    alternative metalexperimentalhardcoremetalcore
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    Narcissus was an Ohio hardcore band formed in 1998, rooted in metalcore but unwilling to stay within its usual limits. The early material paired fast, metallic riffs with sudden slow grooves, chaotic death-metal passages and a vocal approach built around John Pope's blood-curdling screams, sometimes set against clean singing. ...And Forthwith Came Out Blood and Water established that abrasive sound on Clenchedfist Records. The 2000 release Newwave Techno Homicide kept the brutal breakdowns while becoming more experimental and less conventionally metallic, with songs that shifted between screaming, singsong vocals and unusual rhythmic turns. On Becoming Leviathan, Narcissus added electronics, piano and acoustic guitar to the metalcore foundation, using instrumental passages and melodic transitions to make the songs more expansive. The change was substantial without abandoning the band's harshness.

    In 2003, Narcissus released Crave and Collapse through Abacus Recordings and combined the two directions developed on its preceding records. The album restored the earlier brutality while retaining the wider arrangements and melodic depth of Becoming Leviathan. Later that year, after five years as a band, John LaRussa and John Pope announced Narcissus was ending. LaRussa went on to form Inhale Exhale, while Pope joined Symphony in Peril for a brief period; Josh King later played in Not Beneath. Narcissus reunited in 2020, with LaRussa and Pope returning to the group, and played shows in 2021, including Furnace Fest in Birmingham on September 24.

    4 releases reviewed