South Carolina’s Islander have been putting a fresh, post-hardcore-ish spin on nu-metal for over a decade now, and their new album, It’s Not Easy Being Human (out today via Better Noise Music), brings many of the group’s presumed idols into the fold. The 17-track LP is loaded with guest features ranging from Underoath’s Spencer Chamberlain and Bad Brains’ H.R., to a song called “Skin Crawl” that brings Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, Zao vocalist Dan Weyandt and Living Sacrifice singer-guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh all under one roof.
Zao and Living Sacrifice are foundational to the sound metalcore took throughout the late Nineties and 2000s, so hearing them come together on a song is cool enough. But putting Korn’s guitarist in the mix is a pretty unexpected choice that ends up working out really well on “Skin Crawl” — a bouncy, sometimes screamy, sometimes catchy nu-metalcore track that you can listen to above via YouTube.
And if you like that, check out the tracks with the singers of Underoath and Bad Brains below.