Gutter King Put a New Spin on Their Emotive Hit, “Feather”
Hearing a simple acoustic rendition of a dynamic and intricate song is always an interesting experience. It strips away the extra elements that may make it sound addictive, exciting, energetic, even cinematic. However, there is a lot to gain from this format when it is done right. It can recontextualize a song in a way that makes you appreciate the core of it: the melodies, the meaning, and the experiences that gave life to that piece in the first place. On the other hand, who can resist the force of a well-crafted modern metalcore track?
With Gutter King’s “Feather”, you get the best of both worlds. The Canadian group put out the original in early 2020 as one of a few stand-alone singles following their debut EP Beyond Grief. While their first EP is a collection of heavy and propulsive metalcore songs with catchy melodic choruses, “Feather” plays with more dynamics and veers into a similar lane as current offerings from Holding Absence and Dayseeker. The ebbs and flows between spacey verses and explosive choruses make it compelling, and the soaring clean vocals and slick production make it all too easy to replay again and again. “Feather” builds to a climax with its intense bridge bringing an aggressive vocal style to the forefront for the first time in the track. This moment provides a satisfying feeling of catharsis after taking in some intense lyrics detailing one’s struggle to move on from a deep loss. The band told us that these lyrics came out of personal experiences, “We wrote “Feather” during a time when one of our members was dealing with the loss of a loved one.”
The sound and style of the original definitely contribute to the feeling that is conveyed by the piece overall, but performing “Feather” as a more stripped-back acoustic track can offer something new. “We’ve always wanted to do an acoustic version of the song to really emphasize the emotion behind the lyrics. After going through several renditions, we decided to keep the arrangement really sparse—just an acoustic guitar and vocals—to allow the message of the song to take center stage.”
They certainly succeeded in that goal, with the presence of nothing more than a soft guitar and some airy harmonies allowing the prominent vocals to lay these emotions bare. In this sense less can be more, and for this song specifically, being presented in this way can also serve as a reflection of the feelings of emptiness that come from suffering a difficult loss. Both versions pack a punch in their own ways, with the full band original providing a dramatic build and epic sound as a canvas for the lyrics, while the acoustic lets them shine on their own.
The acoustic version of “Feather” expands the band’s horizons and sets the stage for them to continue exploring various sounds beyond more standard metalcore. Their next EP is set to come out later this year and it will be the most diverse release of theirs to date, which is enticing considering how Gutter King shows their chops on these two very different forms of the same song.
