Escape is not Freedom

Escape Is Not Freedom is a three piece band from Chicago, Illinois who formed in 2015, from the looks of things. Escape Is Not Freedom play a killer style of music that incorporates elements of punk, metal, grunge, sludge, and noise rock within their sound. Musically, Escape Is Not Freedom can be loosely compared to bands such as Helmet, The Melvins, Shellac, Whores, Buildings, Helms Alee, and Bardus. Since forming in 2015, Escape Is Not Freedom have released a five song EP titled The Truants in October of 2015. Goldsmith is the band's latest full length LP, which was released on February 24th, 2017. On Goldsmith, Escape Is Not Freedom offer up ten tracks of catchy, riff heavy punk, metal, grunge, sludge, and noise rock with vocals that alternate between gruff male vocals and slightly melodic female vocals. Overall, Goldsmith makes for a killer listen and definitely should not be missed. Highly recommended! Enjoy! - Dead Air at the Pulpit

Goldsmith, the latest release from Chicago’s Escape Is Not Freedom, sounds like something that could have been released by Amphetamine Reptile Records. For those not familiar with that label, Amphetamine Reptile Records (often shortened to AmRep) released some truly uncompromising, noisy records from bands like Hammerhead and Cows, and have some pretty notable alumni, such as Unsane, Helmet, and Today Is The Day. Had they formed in the late 80s or early 90s, Escape Is Not Freedom surely would have been a perfect fit for AmRep, with their jagged riffs and aggressive, punk-influenced vocals.

Escape Is Not Freedom manage to take the melody of Smashing Pumpkins and couple it with the heavier edge of The Melvins, creating an intense sludge rock sound reminiscent of bands like Fight Amp and Whores. The guitars on Goldsmith are super fuzzed out, as can be heard on songs like “Night Light” and “Sodium,” and have an audible hiss, which gives the music an abrasive edge, even when the riffs are fairly melodic. The drums are big, but not overproduced, and the bass gives enough punch in the low-end to really give the riffs a solid dose of heaviness. Guest vocals by Emily Jancetic give an even bigger melodic boost on “Annul,” “Dispossess,” and “Harbinger,” with “Dispossess” in particularly being a moody, shoegaze-influenced track that gets a bit heavier towards the end, similar to Made Out Of Babies.

The production on Goldsmith has a heavy garage rock influence, with guitars allowed to feedback, and a bit of reverb on everything, giving the record an ambience usually heard only on live albums. This tone actually suits the music pretty well, sounding like it would give you a bad case of tinnitus in person (ALWAYS a good thing in an album). Though Escape Is Not Freedom clearly have a lot of influences from the 90s, they manage to not sound dated, and are very skilled at bringing those influences into a modern setting. If you like AmRep, or sludgy noise rock in general, pick up a copy of Goldsmith.

– Bradley - Metal Blast

Escape Is Not Freedom is a Chicago-based sludge / noise / post-hardcore group. In 2015, the band released his first ep The Truants . On the first full-length Goldsmith , the male trio has turned on the help of singer Emily Jancetic. The result is an album with ten songs that bring far more focus and diversity than those on the debut ep.

The sound of Escape Is Not Freedom is quite difficult to describe. Comparisons with Kylesa are made quick. Especially due to the alternate male and female vocals and the great sludge and post-hardcore elements that can be heard. In addition, think of relatively older bands like Helmet, Unsane, Melvins and Fudge Tunnel and you have a nice picture. Escape Is Not Freedom puts an amazing wall of sound on Goldsmith . Compared to the ep, the songs are somewhat grooveder and there is more room for melody. The latter is mainly due to the tender, angelic voice of Jancetic. The presence of her vocals in Annul , Disposses and Harbringermakes the album good and creates more dynamics. The chaotic screams of singer Mike may be there, but have too little depth to keep a whole album long.

That the Seattle sound (grunge if you want) has influenced Escape Is Not Freedom already gives the group to his bio. This is well audible. Listen to Sodium . The verses of this song feature a guitar course typical of Tad, one of the most underrated Seattle bands in the early nineties. In addition, there is something flirted with Nirvana's sound at his debut Bleach and does the loggering rifle that reminds of the 'old' Soundgarden. For example, the introductory riff of album opener Coriander has some way from Jesus Christ Pose.

In terms of dynamism, Escape Is Not Freedom has made a lot of progress. Still, the songs are still a little complicated and more challenging. Goldsmith has a wonderful sound and has an equally impressive production. These are all very tasty ingredients that Escape Is Not Freedom has added to his sound. For those whose heart is going to hit faster when hearing the mentioned bands, this release is worth listening and buying.

Tracklist:
1. Coriander
2. Cancel
3. Night Light
4. Morphine
5. Sodium
6. Disposses
7. Nervous Aggrevation
8. Locust
9. Harbringer
10. Migraine
Score: 77 /100

Reviewer: Hugo - Metalfan.NL

The Pitch: Chicago band combines 90's Helmet with sludge and noise to bring you some worthwhile alternative music.

What I Like: Grungy, dirty, 90's vibe with some crunchy riffs and plenty of attitude. The production fits the music well and contributes to the grittiness. But what I love more than the hooks or no-nonsense vocals are the drums. These beats are the driving force of much of the record. From the opening of "Coriander," they are a pummeling torrent that never breaks for any shore.

What I Don't Like: Inconsistent. While I like the use of female vocals to change things up and feel she has a good voice, the songwriting and choices in melody on a few of these tracks puts me off. I think they still contribute to a varied flow on the album, but this is also accomplished on the better, more sludgy songs.

The Verdict: I'm always happy to hear fellow Chicagoans bring back sounds from what I feel was one of the best periods for metal and rock music aside from the 70's. While they could tighten up some of their songwriting, I found this to be a pleasant outing that took me to different places than most of what I am listening to right now.

Flight's Fav's: Coriander, Locust, Night Light - Metal Trenches

Chicago’s Escape Is Not Freedom are set to release their debut full length, Goldsmith, on February 24th, they are a band that combine sludge, metal and noise rock to make an intense, discordant and fuzzy soundtrack. The Illinois trio’s debut album follows on from their 2015 EP, The Truants, and it feels like a logical follow up, however, on their previous release the sound was more refined and precise, for Escape Is Not Freedom the rough edges are firmly in place, for me this gives the album a darker and rawer feel than it’s predecessor, and it’s an approach that better suits their dark hybrid of styles.

Goldsmith opens with the intense fuzz driven riff of Coriander, this is a dark primal number that recalls the heavier end of punk, grunge and alt rock, Annul switches the pace, but not the intensity, this is accompanied by a haunting female vocal that contrasts with the gruff delivery of the opening track. Night Light‘s remorseless bass grind signals that a downbeat heavier element is being bought into the mix, an element that continues through the short but sweet dose of Morphine that follows it. The track Sodium signals another shift, this time into a discordant post punk delivery before we hit the anguished Dispossessed, this is a number that signals a return to a melodic vocal delivery that is juxtaposed against an intense riff. The album continues to vary it’s intensity, delivery and melody across the ten tracks, until you get to album’s finale, the dark, disturbing, extended, and appropriately named, Migraine.

Goldsmith is an album that resembles a collision between The Melvins, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Killing Joke, this results in an album of extended hazy riffs that are relentlessly delivered in a discordant and fuzz drenched style. In case you hadn’t guessed this is by no means an easy listen, it is a remorseless dark and heavy album that is born of the suspiciously hazy origins of sludge and stoner rock, but the fact that this is coupled with elements of metal and noise rock, that inject a dose of adrenalin into the album, prevent it from being an album that gets mired in it’s own heady sludge. Goldsmith is an impressive self released album that will be available via Escape Is Not Freedom‘s Bandcamp, and it’s one that is worth investigating if you’re tastes lie towards the heavier end of the alternative spectrum. - The Punk Site

Tomorrow - Friday the 24th of February - Chicago three piece crew Escape Is Not Freedom will officially release new album "Goldsmith" onto the eagerly-awaiting masses!

We've got a Thursday surprise for you, now bringing all 10 tracks online in advance for a pre-listening stream!

Check out all of "Goldsmith" below and let us know what you think of this sludgy mixture of noisy metal.

The trio manages to create a wall of sound while not losing any sense of melody and creativity, featuring guest vocals by Emily Jancetic on “Annul,” “Dispossess,” and “Harbinger.” - Metal Underground.com

Chicago’s noise/rock/sludge trio Escape is not Freedom will be releasing their second album Goldsmith on February 24 and today we have the premier of “Dispossess“. This track may be slower than the rest but is nonetheless devastating, featuring guest vocals from Emily Jancetic that brings a Julie Christmas feel to the song and that’s always a good thing. The slight change of pace here veers from their AmRep-ish noise but lets some of their other influences bleed through; shades of heavier post metal and the sludgy bounce of a more playful Melvins towards songs end all makes for an engaging and addictive song. See for yourself after the jump. - Nine Circles

Escape Is Not Freedom are a band from Chicago, Illinois that plays a mixture of sludge metal, grunge and noise rock and this is a review of their self released 2017 album "Goldsmith" which will be released in February.

A very hard, heavy yet melodic sound starts off the album and the music brings in the heaviness of sludge metal while you can also hear all of musical instruments that are present on the recording and after awhile angry sounding noise rock style vocals are added onto the recording and blast beats are also utilized at times.

Throughout the recording you can hear a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and when solos and leads are utilized they bring in a very raw yet melodic style and you can also hear elements of 80's era Sub Pop grunge in the bands musical style and female vocals can also be heard briefly and while the music has a lot of roots in t he 80's and 90's it still sound s very modern at the same time and the album remains very heavy from beginning to ending of the recording.

Escape Is Not Freedom plays a musical style that takes grunge and noise rock and mixes it in with the heaviness of sludge metal to create a sound of their own, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover dark and real life themes.

In my opinion Escape Is Not Freedom are a very great sounding mixture of noise rock, grunge, and sludge metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Coriander" "Morphine" "Locust" and "Migraine". 8 out of 10. - ExtremeUndergroundMusicZine

ESCAPE IS NOT FREEDOM are a band from Chicago that brings us their new CD "Goldsmith".

They practice music with a base settled in the Sludge to which they add various nuances that range from the noisiest Rock, passing through Stoner moments or even some reminiscences of Grunge.

The predominant voice throughout the disc is masculine although it is much more interesting those songs that are sung by a girl like "Annul" or "Dispossess". Precisely, it is the character that this voice prints along with different nuances of guitar, which gives those themes a certain air of Grunge or, even, the Noise type SONIC YOUTH.

There is enough of Stoner in "Coriander" or "Night Light", along with some touches coming from the Doom Metal, with a sound of guitars quite dirty and with some very heavy riffs and rockers, at the same time, with enough power.

"Morphine" puts the most Noise note within the varied rock spectrum that the band offers throughout the album. "Harbinger" reminds me of the time SOUNDGARDEN or PEARL JAM, it has reminded me of the sensations I experienced the first time I approached these bands, although at a slower pace, in terms of the overall speed of the subject, with respect to those two great bands.

The CD, as a whole, is not bad, is varied, has a characteristic sound and has certain influences that call attention to the time we are moving. It requires several eavesdropping so that we go to him. Although it is true that it lacks some remarkable subject. It has enough differences to get away from the average of Sludge bands.

I would highlight, above all, the feminine voice and the Grunge touch that certain themes have.

Pros: Influences of Grunge and Noise give the album variety.

Cons: Something that shines on its own is needed.

ESCAPE IS NOT FREEDOM offer us 10 tracks from Sludge but with many nuances that make them a band to be taken into account and we will have to follow carefully if we like this kind of musical genre. - Necromance

Chicago sludge metal / noise rock act Escape Is Not Freedom just premiered a new song titled "Night Light." The track is taken from forthcoming album "Goldsmith," which will be released on February 24th, 2017.

The band commented about this new song: "This is probably one of our heavier tracks where a big chunk of our influences shines through. We always strive for creating a massive sound while not losing the quality of the song, and I think we accomplished that with 'Night Light'." - Metal Underground.com

Hey guys! Lyric here. This week, I’m reviewing an album by the name of Goldsmith. It’s from a Chicago-oriented band, Escape is Not Freedom. The band is made up of Mike (Guitar, vocals), Darrin (drums), and Josh (bass, vocals on “Migraine“)

Goldsmith is set to drop February 24, 2017. It is a self-released album, and consists of a mixture of rock, sludge, noise, and grunge.

The album itself has 10 tracks, but my favorite is the first one, “Coriander“. It starts off heavy and full of rock, then slowly makes its way into the subgenres of noise and grunge. First impression, right off the bat, is that I want to party to this band.

The vocals are rough, full of energy, and just fit the song all around. Escape Is Not Freedom definitely went in the right direction with this one. (I mean, who doesn’t love rough grunge-rock vocals?)

I’d definitely recommend this album to any fans of early Smashing Pumpkins or The Melvins for sure. You’ll be loving everything that has to do with it.



Getting to the song “Morphine” was definitely a taste of grunge. The instruments flow together in a familiar tune that makes you want to blast it as loud as you can. (Unless, of course, you’re like me and playing it at 10:30pm in an old-person neighborhood… then, you should probably refrain).

The whole album definitely gives off a 90’s grunge/sludge vibe, and it’s for anyone who wants to party like it’s 1995.

If you ask me, I’m marking my calendar for February 24th. Escape Is Not Freedom is one of my new favorite artists, and I’m definitely going to start following them after hearing this album. Plus, who doesn’t love that band name? It’s self-explanatory, and throws up questions on what it could be referring to. I assume it’s a positive message, and I’m all about positivity!!

I wasn’t able to find any video samples on YouTube of this album, so I guess you’ll just have to set a reminder and wait for yourself! Can’t wait to see what else they have to offer. - We Love Metal

Hailing from Chicago, IL, the genre of noise rock and its forbearers have undeniable imprinted upon the DNA of today’s featured band Escape Is Not Freedom. Crossings the boundaries of rock, sludge, noise and grunge, this trio convulsant manage to generate a cacophonous racket, where riffs are monotonously cavernous whilst retaining a strong sense of melody and originality. With influences ranging from the AmRep bands of yore through to Julie Christmas and Rabies Caste, Escape Is Not Freedom new album “Goldsmith” is further proof that the noise rock movement is alive and well, are will surely see the band garner praise in much the same way their peers, Wrong and Whores., have garnered over the last 12 months.

With “Goldsmith” set for release on February 24th 2017, today you can get your first taste of the record with this exclusive premiere of the track “Night Light” with following parental advisory sticker: guaranteed to riff you the fuck out. - The Sludgelord

Escape Is Not Freedom will release new album "Goldsmith" on February 24th, 2017. The band's combination of sludge, metal, and noise rock is highly recommended for fans of The Melvins, early Smashing Pumpkins, and "Badmotorfinger" era Soundgarden.

Hailing from Chicago, IL, the Escape Is Not Freedom trio manages to create a wall of sound while not losing any sense of melody and creativity, blending a little bit of the old with a little bit of the new. - Metal Underground.com