Artist: Planes Mistaken For StarsAlbum: Up In Them Guts Genre: MetalAlbum Highlights: To All Mothers

Planes Mistaken For Stars, a “prog” metal outfit based in Jacksonville, FL, recently released their fourth full length record, “Up In Them Guts.”

This album, though predominately fast, distorted, and a general “scream-fest,” shows the band taking some impressive steps forward in their musical theory. Tracks like the opener, “To All Mothers” and the eerie “No Prize Fighter” are both acoustically driven while holding the essence of fragility.

Aside from those two songs, the rest of the album is distinctively aggressive. The beginning of the album quickly drags you into the middle of a hellish fury as the consecutive songs “Belly Full of Hell,” “Glassing,” and “Dying by Degrees” lead into each other so precisely they sound like one song. Other outstanding songs include the album’s single, “Spring Divorce” and the closing track, “The Last Winter Dance Party.”

“Spring Divorce” is led in by the melancholy moaning of a stand-up-bass, and is then shortly accompanied by the rumble of a vicious tom tom roll and the bone-chattering bellow of vocalist Gared. The song turns in a belligerent twist and breaks into a bitter shake-down of accusation.

Gared’s lyrical content is very diverse in its interpreted meanings, yet ties in a few of the same symbols throughout many of the songs. The reoccurring symbols include walls, which allure to confinement or redemption, and beasts, both in reference to himself and humankind in general.

He also refers to mothers, brothers, and fathers multiple times, though it’s unclear if he’s referring to his own family or using the family roles as metaphors for social stereotypes. Of course, the most thematic topics in the album are burning and bleeding, used as symbols for failed relationships. It’s kind of emo, but it’s still great music.

This record is a remarkable and brilliant piece of work despite its shortcomings. It’s a high recommendation to anyone who listens to hardcore or metal styles of music; you’ll be impressed with what’s out in the underground.