Back in February a band surfaced that no one had ever heard of before. As posters for Download began to announce the bands that were performing at the festival, one raised all kinds of questions on social media. Before they even released their first song, it was announced that President was performing at the large U.K. music festival.
In May, President released their first single, “In the Name of the Father”. With this as their first single and the traction they have been building over the past three months, the band exploded in the metal scene. This song caused lots of controversy, with people either hating it or loving it. I fell into the group of people who absolutely fell in love with it. It’s definitely falling into one of my top songs of the year with how many times I listened to it.
Second on the EP was President’s second single, “Fearless”. Once again, this song faced lots of backlash, mostly for the use of the autotune. However, the band established from their first song, they are a masked band. They are going for anonymity here, and autotune will try to mask their voice, just like they wear a mask over their face. The symbolism behind the use of it is not lost on me, and the song was still a strong one in my eyes.
The third and fourth songs on the EP, “RAGE” and “Destroy Me”, were both released previously as singles ahead of the full release. “Rage” is a departure from the heavier tones in the two previous songs. When I first listened to it, I didn’t even realize it was the same band at first due to the beginning of the song. It certainly threw me for a loop. I wasn’t 100% sold on it at first but it has since grown on me. “Destroy Me” on the other hand brings you back to the heavier start but then delves into an almost rap-like beginning to the song. The song is only 2:43 but it provides an impact with the breakdown, as the lead singer yells “Get me out of this hell!” The breakdown is punctuated by what sounds like an elevator dinging, which is something unique that I never would have expected.
This leads us to the last two songs on the EP, “Dionysus” and “Conclave”, which are the only two that were not previously released. Both of these are slower songs, with an emphasis on a sad tone.
Overall, the EP follows several biblical themes, but the overarching theme in all of these songs is death. I feel like part of the beauty in President’s sound is that you can’t quite put a finger on it. Lyrically and thematically, the songs all make sense and you can tell from the vocals of course it’s all the same band. But President refuses to put themselves in a box. They have metal influences clearly, but there are also rap and electronic influences as well.
At the end of the day, President makes music that people either love or hate. Luckily for me, I’m in the first column. Sure, they’re music is not for everyone and I can admit that. However if this is just the start of their career, I can’t wait to see what else they have in store.
