Not very structurally sound…
[Video]
[5.33]
Alfred Soto: Below average metal thumper whose 1-900-ANGST hysterics match the boneheaded lyrics.
[4]
Hazel Southwell: Am I surprised this is the sound bringing metal to the mainstream in 2021? YES. On the one hand it’s technically as fun as anything but I absolutely cannot get my brain away from how much it sounds like nu metal and surely the only thing we unconditionally do not need back is that. As a longstanding cringe metal nerd I’m just surprised why this particularly tepid spectacularism not something with a riff that grabs you by the throat and slams you — at least Drowning Pool had tunes, y’know.
[4]
Vikram Joseph: “Meteor” is an average rock song elevated by the inventiveness of its synth and percussion, which at times evoke a genuine, skittish paranoia to go with the vague climate change allegory of the lyrics, especially during the middle-eight. The flickering synths, in particular, combine effectively with the howling guitars, reminiscient of the way mid-period Thursday used electronics to frame their excoriating emo. What bogs “Meteor” down is unimaginative songwriting and Sam Carter’s scratchy, characterless vocals; Thursday had Geoff Rickly, and Architects decidedly do not.
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: Deftones x Linkin Park = “Meteor.” I didn’t realize bands were still making this kind of aggro emo, and there’s something reassuring about that fact. These guys do it well.
[7]
Oliver Maier: Death, taxes and vaguely-named alternative metal bands churning out nondescript songs with naff high fantasy lyrics (Genius as a website is indispensable for observations like “Sam Carter is vegan, so he aligns himself with the the official stance of the WHO that animal agriculture is a massive contributor to zoonotic diseases”). Founding member Dan Searle has admitted to being nervous about how purists in their fanbase will react to “Meteor” being arena rock. With any luck they’ll forget about it as quickly as I do.
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: This is neither a good sound nor one that really needs a 2021 revival. But it it kind of sounds like Velocifero and certain lyrics hit closer to home than I really want to grapple with (no, not the one about quarantine, though that certainly was jarring). So my heart, though in bad taste and a bad place, won’t let me go any lower.
[8]