Takers Leavers Deliver Progressive Post-Hardcore on New Single "Quiet/Chaos"
A swirling grandiose mastery of progressive post-hardcore that can go from ethereal angelic crisp cleans to bone crunching guitar driven leads create an interesting and cultivated atmosphere on Takers Leavers' appropriately titled "Quiet/Chaos." Unafraid to go from the dreamy delay guitar effects soaked in reverb into full throttle, pummelling breakdowns that have all the vile venom find the band trudging through metalcore territory with their heads held high.
The accompanying music video creates an epic space opera, where you feel the scope of the spectacle the music conveys, creating an aesthetic of high-quality delight for the eyes and ears. Speaking with vocalist David Baqi, he elaborated on the bizarre nature of the video and what went into creating it. "It was the most ambitious thing we thought of!” He continues, “Very stressful but rewarding when we got it done. I got a severe stomach bug on set and it lasted for a couple days. Totally sucked! But the scenes in the cave were so worth it! Trying to match a vision in your mind to reality is such a tricky thing, but it always helps when you have such a sharp group of people that you associate with. Amber Paredes (Scene Daddy Best Videographer nominee) has such a way of stitching things together that every time she presents us with an edit, we’re in awe. This video process was much trickier as we were working very intimately, and so we had to learn how to work together even more eloquently. And a special shout out to Ian Galloway, the protagonist, named X. He was such a trooper during this shoot and such a brilliant actor."
Throughout the track, every aspect of the backing band gets a moment to shine, never grinding to a halt and always offering something new as it goes along. Whether it's the more downtempo bass-driven bridge, the pulse-pounding, drum-dominant breakdown sections, or the sharp as a razor guitar solo, they are all galvanized around a dynamic scream and clean singing style that is charged by thought provoking lyrics.
Lyrically, there is so much going on, with a constant struggle between the vocalists to control that conflicting narrative. Vocalist David Baqi commented on this process. "This song has two perspectives that weave together, blurring the lines,” he said. “I seldom have nightmares, and I’m not sure I’d really consider this a nightmare, but last year i kept waking up to a vision of grimacing teeth in a room of darkness. During the time I was seeing these phantasms. I was dealing with some family affairs that really pushed me to observe my fundamental traits, i.e. choices I make, how I react and respond to my environment, how I process anger, how I love, etc. In this observation, I uncovered so much of myself that I hated and began to be burdened by it. “Quiet/Chaos” is an attempt to understand and verbalize that through a mystic interaction between a subject and that which haunts it."
"Quiet/Chaos" is a welcome release from the band, who have just two prior EP releases to their name - Filthy Animals and Break & Bloom. The newest single sees the band get back into their well-articulated, frantic ability to jump from one polar extreme to another, as their exploration of dynamics has become more fleshed out to even more dizzying highs and brutal lows.
Curious about what helped bring this poetic, stoic feeling they're so comfortable dwelling in on the track, David had this to say: "As always, our go-to person is our (secret member) Adam Sisco. He just knows how to create with us, let’s us flow free, and reins us in when needed. We are so comfortable with him and I think it shows. For mixing and mastering, one of Robby’s [Robby Friend, guitarist] other bands had worked with the legendary Andrew Wade and was very keen on the idea of seeing what he could do! We emailed him and he expressed a lot of affection towards the music which made us very happy. At that point, it was a no brainer to work with him. We are honored that we did!"
The question remains if these singles are leading up to something bigger. With the music video opening with the subtitle “Act 1”, it leads you to believe that there’s more to come from the Southern Californian quintet outfit. Rest assured, "Quiet/Chaos" is just one of three acts that will make up a future EP release, and if the quality of this production is what we have to go by, we're in for a well-crafted treat. When reaching for one final quote regarding his band, David had this to say: "I destroyed them all and rode my rocket ship back to my home planet after harvesting Earth of all of it's worth-while elements." Glad to know they've got a sense of humor over at Takers Leavers.
Check out the music video for Taker’s Leavers’ new single “Quiet/Chaos” and be on the lookout for what’s still to come!