Headwreck - Filet-O-Fish Single Review

You might not eat a Filet-O-Fish, but you should definitely listen to Headwreck’s hot new track Filet-O-Fish! Released only last week, this single is chaos manifest served between two delicious steamed buns.

Headwreck, an alternative nu-metal band from Brisbane, dropped their latest EP on April 18th, with Filet-O-Fish being the titular track. This EP as a whole is Headwreck at their most authentic and innovative, as they “embrace their most genuine and goofy selves”.

Immediately from the get-go, Filet-O-Fish packs an absolute audio suckerpunch and is delectably catchy. The track opens with a cacophony of beats and glitches, and then explodes into a melodic metal riff, instantly whiplashing listeners in the best way and continuing to do so throughout the entire track.

The first verse is equal parts heavy and high-energy, with fast paced rhythmic vocals and snippets of electronic music layered over heavy guitars and fierce drums.

The sonic dissipation creates an atmosphere of chaos as elements of different genres and styles such as electronic, nu-metal, industrial, metalcore and hip-hop are scattered sporadically throughout the track.

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The song builds until it erupts into the chorus led by the iconic line “Boy, have you lost your mind? ‘Cause I’ll help you find it!” from The Office (US). References to pop culture are abundant in the lyrics, such as Fast and Furious, Star Wars and WWE, which reinforce the unserious vibe of the track and the early 2000s influence.

The lyrics are very tongue-in cheek, with my personal favourite being “yo fuck the lyrics” followed by a repeated “ooh, ahh” with guttural vocals serving as a goofy moment in the middle of a breakdown.

The track then shifts into a phonkesque rap section, firmly enforces the nu-metal influences, whilst also acting as a moment for listeners to have a very brief reprieve from the chaos and intensity.

The break is interrupted however, as the track almost instantly whips back into a beautifully heavy breakdown, leading into even heavier vocals and guitars. This is definitely the part of the song that induces extreme headbanging.

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What makes this track so unique and intoxicating is the fact that Headwreck state that they “didn’t want to play it safe” and “wanted to do whatever the hell we wanted” which really shows through the overall vibe of the track.

It is evident that the band had a ton of fun creating this song which makes it an absolute auditory joy to indulge in.

They also hilariously claim “the title has nothing to do with anything because yolo” which further adds to the authenticity and playfulness.

Filet-O-Fish is accompanied by a humorous and gritty music video, which opens with a guy eating a dropped filet-o-fish from the ground and then parodies the iconic Australian “You Wouldn’t Steal A Car” anti-piracy PSA. It’s fast paced and perfectly encapsulates the vibes of the song, from fast paced camera angles to fish-eye lens’ and VHS filters. I felt like I had been teleported back to 2001, in the absolute best way.

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Headwreck will be on tour with Northlane, Ocean Grove and Mirrors for their ‘All Over Australia Regional Tour’ in August this year, playing around regional Queensland. You can pick up tickets here. You can also stream Filet-o-Fish here, and check out the rest of the EP for more tasty morsels of audio goodness.

RATING: 9.5/10