Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Album number six already in the bands 11-year career, some big hitters on this album as guests as well so a lot of anticipation for this one, we know it’s going to be brutal so let’s give it a spin!
To Rid Myself of Truth
Straight in, no intros no messing about, a slab of guitars and screaming vocals, a slow grinder of a riff then an utterly disgusting slow grinding riff and drum groove for the verse, lovely transition into a switched up groove with some nice guitar work, then a lo fi tribal groove comes in and then boom into the technically chorus part with a sliding guitar riff, the breakdown is brutal, with all the vocals you would expect from a part like this, it’s a very familiar production style the way everything gets pushed forward in the spectrum when you listen to it, great opener!
Hellmustfearme
Gotta love blast beats opening a song, really dissonant riff as well to kick it off, this is very different from the first track, super-fast and aggressive then there is a riff comes in with just a solitary drum beat and it is more thrashy in nature, love the change up in feel to the chorus, second time round there is a different section altogether with flying double kicks before they slow it way down into the breakdown part, before hitting a really headbanging mid-tempo double bass groove before then hitting that chorus part again, really well put together, everything flows despite all the tempo changes and riffs, great arranging!
Natural Selection
That is low and rumbly, great slam riff right off the bat, with a deliberate slow drum groove with it, that will cause all sorts of chaos in a pit, that riff is nuts, it’s the groove, then the next part actually adds some melody in the guitar part, the main riff continues but there is another part that carries it, then a really quick blast of double bass before the tom groove for the second verse comes in, quick change to a dissonant groove, which does then what deathcore does and slows it down and down, imagine Primus doing deathcore, I am so getting this off that part before the middle breakdown, vocals scream solo and then into a filthy breakdown section, that carries out to the end of the track!
Scars Upon Scars
Again, it’s slow and just brutally heavy riff that starts this off, great vocals on this and loads of little parts off to the side of the mix, then a really nice pick up, well for a second and then it slows down again into a really just slab of a section with a low tom groove carrying it, then some insane double bass blasts come in, and almost hardcore gang vocal part comes up, which is absolutely class, listen to this on headphones there are little production things like explosion samples to really punctuate parts, again great production tricks, this one for me gives me real hardcore vibes and I love that mix with the deathcore!
Chariot
Intro comes in briefly, with creepy noises before the band come in with a syncopated double bass driven riff that propels the whole song along, now if ever there was a deathcore riff that next one with the little dissonant parts is it, then a breakdown into the chorus, which is absolutely slamming, the slowdown in the middle of this is absolutely sick, before boom, back into the opening riff, nice tempo changes this time though before going back into the pre and chorus sections, again so well arranged, flows beautifully!
Clouded Retinas
Will Ramos from Lorna Shore, guests on this one, slow clean guitar comes in with a slow beat, before the riff slaps in, you can tell straight away that Will is on there, nice tradeoff between the two vocalists, the riff though is absolutely sick, then the half-time comes in for the next part and it is so slamming, the blast beats then rain down and the vocals are insane, there is a really abrasive riff comes in over the double bass section, in fact the drums really are driving the riffs on this one when you sit back and listen, love the transition back to that faded sort of intro part again, as expected the slow down at the end has some signature vocals, that is brutal!
Iron Scarcement
Phil Bozeman from Whitechapel is on this one, that is one groovy riff with harmonics in it, but as soon as I say that the verse riff just goes straight blasts, then into a ripping next section, there is an absolutely fantastic nearly tech death riff comes in with the double kicks, almost Broken Hope sounding, before we get into a more mid-tempo double bass driven section, before it slows down into the chorus part then immediately changes into a slow double bass section before a couple of drum breaks and into the blasts again, this one is dizzying because it changes sections so fast, but it all flows so well, and that end breakdown, disgusting!!
Forcing to Forget
Slightly distorted guitar opens this one playing an arpeggiated riff, and then a faded drum beat and clean vocals enter, ok, this is different, clean vocals in the verse as the band builds up, then a really heavy slow riff with syncopated double kicks come in as the vocals change to the more traditional part, although there are still cleans under the screamed vocals as well, easy to miss but adds to the overall part, nice break into a melodic guitar part in the middle, sort of faded in the background and then gets more prominent as the band then kick in, and ai really liked the fact they kept that guitar line in the back when the main riff came in, it’s a nice break from the brutality, very different track in feel, but I loved this one!
Sarkazein
That is sick, dirty riff really bass guitar heavy just swirling guitars adding texture on the outside, this is different again, almost trancey like beat and a low vocal that reminds me of Fleshgod in there, the chorus is all about texture, yeah the vocals are prominent but listen to all that other stuff in the outside of the mix, there is a really groovy breakdown section, right there after a min and a half, but I just get atmosphere from this track, textural guitars are in the outside of the mix away from the main riff, the heavy floor tom breakdown about three mins in is so bouncy, that will be a good part for the pit, before the record slows down effect with the vocal and then a bizzare noise middle section before the slow down comes in, that track is schizophrenic!
Fear & Judgement
Big drums come in, tribal sort of timpani with a spoken word vocal, then a grinding slow Slayer groove on the drums comes in with a cool riff over the top of it, a lot higher vocal, with Johnny Crowder and Jack Murray guesting on this one, it’s a really nice break from the main vocal, over a very Meshuggah style groove part, some great double bass drumming going on as well, little quick ruffs in there, before back to that verse groove, really nice gang vocals on that and then the spoken word vocals come back in as well, totally different feel to this song, which is nice to break up the album, then what can best be described as a Dillinger style riff in the middle, now that is a slowdown, that is brutally heavy!
Creator
Vocals kick this off, before a cut and paste style riff comes in with the double kicks driving it along, that verse riff will cause all sorts of injuries in a pit, the chorus gets all tribal in the drums and then changes into breakdown parts with the vocals taking center stage, what’s this a guitar solo, very James Murphy in feel, that is a nice surprise I wasn’t expecting at all, then back into the chorus again, and then it fades into a noise and out!
9 out of 10
Great album, I think in a way it’s really hard to be original in this genre, and not to fall into the same patterns that a lot of bands can do, and I think there is enough variation on this album to do that, yes some songs do have the normal parts you would expect but the way it has been arranged and produced really takes each song on its own differences, absolutely worth checking this out if you are a fan of the genre!
