Subterranean Music Index: #6. Allan- …About Five Seconds

Year Of Release: 1999

Label: Da’ Core Records

Lineup: Scott Evans (vocals), Brian Snyder (guitar, backing vocals), Bobby Spell (bass), Lee Fisher (drums, backing vocals)

Genres: Nu metal, sludge metal, post-hardcore

Tracklist:

1. Untitled (0:29)

2. Burn Through (3:01)

3. Fist (7:00)

4. New Sun Rising (7:50)

5. Surrogate (4:20)

6. Angel (8:09)

7. Star (5:05)

8. Anything (4:37)

9. Show No Caress (7:03)

10. Headtrip (4:20)

11. Grief (13:51)

One trend from the world of music from the past ten years or so that I GREATLY appreciate is the reappraisal that nu metal has received. From the abundance of nu metal revival and nu metalcore bands in the modern age, to increased respect in music nerd circles, to increasingly positive reviews from “serious” publications, nu metal has gone from the oft-ridiculed red headed stepchild of metal to a genre that is seen as worthy of recognition. And as more and more people are finding out, old school underground nu metal is a veritable gold mine of great music. These lesser known bands were putting out some of the freshest, most creative, well-crafted metal of their era, and consistently blowing away much of their mainstream contemporaries in terms of quality. Bands like Nervepitch, Sorry About Tomorrow, HeadDrop, LeFT, Flapjack, Helio, and of course, our superstar of the day, Pittsburgh’s very own Allan.

Now, for someone with just a surface level understanding of nu metal, it might be very tempting to compare many different bands to Korn simply due to their influence on the genre, but in this case, Allan actually does follow the template set by Korn’s badass self-titled debut pretty damn closely. The only difference is that …About Five Seconds is WAY fucking heavier than Korn, and a little bit weirder as well. This is downright disgusting, taking traditional downturned aggro metal groove and infusing it with scuzzy sludge metal riffs and nasty hardcore inspired vocals and aggression. Sheer filthy gunk, with a little bit of experimentation and unique instrumentation here and there, everything from bongos to a straight up temper tantrum and breaking glass. And the lyrics… So angry, so hateful, misanthropic to the core. Fans of Korn will surely love this, but I think anyone who appreciates heavy music should give this a spin as well. Nu metal rarely sounds this heavy, this crushing, this raw, this downright vile.

This is essentially a Benadryl-induced take on what the JNCO jeans, chains, and spiked hair with frosted tips crowd loved in the late ‘90s. You’re definitely gonna need a shower after this!

FIND IT HERE-

Bandcamp: https://allanpgh.bandcamp.com/album/about-five-seconds (sadly, the track titles are all wrong, but still the same great music)

YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kB376AT4lhveunXODDSrtgVd9go527hps&si=WpUOaQG2Rhqvn0zs and https://youtu.be/2qRaeTtKfGg and https://youtu.be/3MEn3hg3GYo and https://youtu.be/3c4z25opr0g and also https://youtu.be/L9h2Z9LoxhI

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0MSFQUXl7z3taVoqMtzsS8

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/about-five-seconds/1679785352

Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/fr/album/423351717?deferredFl=1&utm_campaign=album&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic

Rockfm: https://www.rockfm.com/album/2435314/allan/about-five-seconds

Qobuz: https://www.qobuz.com/ie-en/album/about-five-seconds-allan/wdw6ux7viix4b

Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/3870918-allan-About-Five-Seconds

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/About-Five-Seconds-Allan/dp/B00005A0BW

eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/355483465511?_skw=allan+about+five+seconds and https://www.ebay.com/itm/116431509334?_skw=allan+about+five+seconds

Screaming Crow Records: https://screamingcrow.com/product/allan-about-5-seconds/