Given time, metal will come. If you had told me about eight years ago that the scratchy and awkward trio of guys that barely had lyrics for their songs when they played their first show would evolve into the wrecking ball known as Femur, I might have believed you. There was something about how they played, the way they grinned at each other when they locked into a riff—they got loud and they got excited. They further convinced me through their pair of albums, 2018’s Red Marks (which contained the finished versions of the early demos I first heard in a nearly empty Black Pirates Pub) and 2020’s For the Love of It. Their songs pound feedback but also seem to touch something vital, something that allows the band to push to the red line. Jake Laakkonen’s blistering guitar tones and full-throated, lungs-exploding sing-yelling leads the charge, with the rhythm end of Eric Niemi on bass and Dylan Maxwell’s drums providing a pulverizing backdrop. It’s not metal in any strict sense, but rather a heavy mixture of sludge, math, post, alternative, noise, punk, thrash—whatever is most crushing. 2024 was the band’s best year for shows yet, whether it was headlining their own nights at BPP or being the go-to warm-up act for touring bands. Though it’s been a while since we’ve heard new music from these guys, 2025 will see the release of their third album in the fall and hold the promise of more shows.