Calva Louise “Over the Threshold” 2023. Romanus Records, limited edition splatter variant. UK-based prog/alt-metal. Just received this past weekend in the mail – emo-electro-metal is not my usual fare but it’s a beauty of a record from Romanus (and Romanus-owner Chris Banta kindly threw in a second copy for Vault-boy which was super-sweet!). The acquisition also continues my quest to acquire all-things Romanus. I know absolutely zero about the band (and not much more about the genre) so I’m depending a lot on others’ reviews and info. From their Bandcamp, “As a sequel of the previous works from the British band with multicultural origins, this mixtape marks a new musical direction for the band members: Jess, Alizon, and Ben. This last work of Calva Louise serves as the first part of a new trilogy and each song represents a step in the journey of taking control of our thoughts to transcend the limitations of the physical and dream worlds.”  I have also learned that they formed in 2016 and this is their 3rd LP (hence the trilogy thing) but since I have not listened to those other releases, I can’t say if their Allmusic bio is accurate or not (“grunge/punk trio who play loud and brash music without foregoing catchy hooks” — it’s not grungy nor punk. There are some catchy hooks). “Third Class Citizen,” both the album opener and, as a remix (“Bobby Wolfgang Remix“), is pretty catchy, though I prefer the verse to the chorus — the chorus goes all-in with the metalcore screamy style which is not my jam. The title track “Over the Threshold” definitely belongs in a video game (really, the whole record does) and the video reinforces this, a lot.  I suspect this is one of the reasons Banta sent our kid a copy 😉