When Dutch group Textures called it a day in 2018, it was the end of an era after playing their final shows in late 2017. Releasing five studio albums from 2003 to 2016, they left a gamut of progressive orientation and staying true to their own core in the metallic genre with a massive leap to see where they would go next.
When it was announced on their Instagram page on November 2nd, 2023 that the band would be returning in 2024, it was like the gates were breaking down and Textures were ready to raise hell like no other.
That and their sixth studio album Genotype, showcases a return to form and pulling all the stops into the ground, showing that the sextet isn’t backing down without a fight. And to be a part of the Kscope family, after being on two labels such as Listenable and Nuclear Blast, it seems as Radiohead would sing from their 2000 album Kid A, “Everything in its Right Place”.
Despite various line-up changes, the line-up consists Stef Broks on drums, Bart Hennephof on guitar, Remko Tielemans on bass, Daniel de Jongh on lead vocals, Uri Dijk on keyboards, and Joe Tal on guitar. While I’m very new to the world of Textures’ music, their new album is like a massive volcanic eruption, waiting to explode at the right time, at the right place to kick 2026 off with a bigger bang.
And to be allowed to have Delain alumni Charlotte Wessels to sing a duet on the electro-metalcore with a futuristic nightmare on ‘At the Edge of Winter’, it’s almost like a breath of fresh air for Textures bringing Charlotte to the forefront. And she fits in very well in this duet to lend the sextet a helping hand to find their inner selves in the song with its alarming arrangements and cookie monster vocals adding into the ingredients of a delicious hot and spicy meal, waiting for you to be served.
‘Measuring the Heavens’ is a synthesised opening into the world of two cities battling it out to see who will rule the city with bass drum thumps, rumbling guitar riffs, and alarming arrangements, waiting for you to head towards the fallout shelter before the calm after the storm. Imagine if you will, an alternate soundtrack to Todd McFarlane’s Spawn as an animated movie in disguise, but with an intense environment capturing the comic book anti-hero and his struggle to escape Hell and finding to redeem himself as an assassin.
Then, its back to the synths opening another parallel universe in the worlds of Heavy Metal magazine in Taarna’s storyline on ‘Nautical Dusk’. There’s something spaghetti western and very eerie in its desert-like atmosphere with the pounding drum sounds, envisioning a heavy sand-storm approaching, making you want to find shelter immediately as all hell is about to break loose for the guitars to go into this thunderous punch.
There is the ascending guitar solo at the end that hits you like a ton of bricks, hitting your stomach nonstop, with its climatic rise before the monk-like double-tracking chant intro on the ‘Vanishing Twin’ sends us into the Loony bin in Arkham Asylum before the eruption of the NWOBHM movement that brings to mind of a darker version of Opeth, kicks into full gear.
Galloping guitars, soaring vocals, thunderous drum patterns, you can’t go wrong with that. There’s something ‘80s about this track. This not only just the metallic patterns, but elements of the post-punk and the New Wave thrown into the mix which will make your eyes wide open and jaw-dropping momentum.
You almost want to say “Holy fucking shit in a handbag! What the fuck was that? Play that again!” That’s how fucking good Textures are by adding more fuel to the fire by proving themselves once more they’re storm through the floodgates with no turning back.
If you think the album is over and done with, the last three tracks will get your fist pumping for more metallic headbanging like a wolverine whose high on angel dust! ‘Closer to the Unknown’ offers a chance for redemption through this spiritual journey to reflect and confront the past, present, and into the future whilst never looking back with a primal scream before delving into the madness for ‘A Seat for the Like-Minded’.
At first you think its Gazpacho, but once the heavy riffs come out of the woodwork, you know the Gotham villains in Arkham are waiting to be unleashed and take over Gotham City with an iron fist. The brutal forces of evil and maddening orientation can cut you like a knife with its Mastodon-like approach before closing it out with jazz-like drumming background with a smoky atmosphere to break through the ‘Walls of the Soul’.
It offers a hope of moving forwards and seeing what the future will hold for the main character in the composition. There is tension yes, but the way that Textures handles in this closing piece, you know you have to fight your demons and get out of the tunnels and reaching that bright light, waiting for you to make it towards the surface and be free from all of the chaos you’ve endured.
