Since blackened deathcore has existed for well over a decade, thanks to torch-bearers like Winds Of Plague, Carnifex, and Bleeding Through. However, acts like Lorna Shore and Shadow Of Intent have helped reinvigorate the previously dormant style in unexpected and delightful ways. This is where Mental Cruelty’s third record comes seemingly out of nowhere to slam into the scene.
Where these Germans particularly excel is in two really important areas: guitarwork and atmosphere. A Hill To Die Upon travels through a myriad of subgenres: deathcore, symphonic black metal, tech-death, and slam, so it’s due to the massive efforts of Marvin Kessler, and Nahuel Lozano that quality stays consistent through the record’s varied sounds. Riffs tend to feel more influenced by slam and melodic tech-death, though the blackened leads and stunning guitar solos that pepper the record really reveal a vibrancy that’s feels unique to the band. However, it’s in the building of atmosphere that the record shines. Both in the utilization of synths and in shifting their writing style to emphasize atmosphere over brutality, it’s a rare treat to have a deathcore record where most of the breakdowns feel both earned and enjoyable. It’s a meaty record for sure, but it doesn’t take long to appreciate how much effort was put to trim the album’s fat. Listening back to Mental Cruelty’s previous records reveals a talented band on the cusp of greatness, which puts the excellence here in better perspective.
If there’s one complaint, it’s of the brick-walled production and a mix that somehow makes everything sound a tad sharper on the ears than necessary. Look, I get that deathcore should have loud production, and there’s definitely some variance in the dynamic range, but it’s hard to fully appreciate when it goes from really loud to super duper loud. That aside, for those who were sad to see Lorna Shore without a vocalist or wishing Shadow Of Intent went even harder, welcome to your new favorite band. The BEST deathcore album of 2021 is here without a shadow of a doubt. 10/10
Archon - Altiora (Prime Collective) [Zak Skane]
Archon are a brand new Metalcore act hailing form Aarhus Denmark. Archon consist four members vocalist Sofus Nielsen, Guitarists Kresten Maigaard, Jonas Larsen and drummer Jeppe Bo Kibsgaard. The bands sonic structure is based on ambient and classic genres accompanied with political and personally challenged lyrical themes.
From the opening ambience of Begin to the closing tech filled riff factory of Purgatory, there are some great moments on this E.P. Especially with tracks like Begin and Dark Grounds where Kresten Maigaard and Jonas Larsen’s guitar parts lock in with Jeppe Bo Kibsgaard drum grooves, resulting in some good face gurning, head bobbing moments. Gloom takes influences from old school metal-core bands like All That Remain and Killswitch Engage and combines it with the newer sounding bands like Architects and Wage War to produce a sonic brew that could please both the old and new metalcore fans. Also Playing The Victim utilises hardcore style riffs that take ode bands like Beartooth and Vanna and mixes it up with tech metal guitar riffs that you would from bands like Erra and Currents.
The production on this EP sounds amazing, Chris Kreutzfeldt (who has worked with Cabal, MOL and Ghost Iris) has done a great job of making the guitars sound tight and crushing, whist locking with the drums that are sounding punchy and cutting through the mix, which especially helps highlighting some of the more technical and polyrhythmic moments on Jeppe performs on songs like Begin and Purgatory. My only criticisms that I have with this E.P is that, even though the songs well structured I found especially with the melodically harsh sung choruses, is that they don’t really stand out to me. For example when you listen to a songs like Wage War’s Twenty One and Don’t Let Me Fade Away they use a lot more variation to make them sound more catchy and melodic.
Overall this is great debut e.p from the four piece metal act from Denmark. If you are a fan of modern metal-core i.e bands like Wage War, Eera and Currents it’s definitely worth checking out, 7/10
Angstskrig - Skyggespil (Despotz Records) [Matt Bladen]
Featuring the likes of Attila Vörös (Satyricon, Sanctuary, Nevermore, Tyr), Frédéric Leclercq (Kreator, Dragonforce, Sinsaenum), Mathias Lillmåns (Finntroll), Tomas Elofsson (Hypocrisy) and Sylvain Coudret (Soilwork). Mysterious Danish duo Angstskrig have a wide rolodex of acquaintances appear on this debut album, clearly a lot of friends considering they are masked and their identities highly guarded. Skyggespil means Shadow Play in Danish and it sums up the sound of Angstskrig very well, delivered in their native tongue this album is full of Northern Darkness, the extreme metal assault on the record inspired by black n roll luminaries Entombed as they interpret their own sound of raw, ravaged black metal (obviously), but they have grooves, melodic guitars and gloomy atmospheres. The first three tracks are strongly in the black metal vein while Lucifer Kalder is more straight ahead style as Slæbt Gennem Sølet is a much more doomy affair. Skyggespil travels across the howling barren landscapes with a more aggressive style of black n roll than many around. A furious debut from this duo. 7/10
Wristmeetrazor - Replica Of A Strange Love (Prosthetic Records) [Richard Oliver]
It’s been a good long while since I’ve had to suffer through any metalcore but all good things come to an end and ruining this nice long streak of non-generic painfully bad metalcore is Wristmeetrazor with their second album Replica Of A Strange Love. As you can probably tell already I am really not a fan of the metalcore genre. Despite having some promising bands at the genre’s inception it is now a painfully stale, uninspiring and repetitive genre that rarely produces anything new, different, exciting or listenable. Wristmeetrazor are unfortunately one of the worst examples of the metalcore genre it has been my misfortune to listen to as not only do they produce appallingly generic metalcore they incorporate a load of influences from post-hardcore and screamo (another genre that makes me want to feed myself head first into an industrial wood chipper).
Overall this is great debut e.p from the four piece metal act from Denmark. If you are a fan of modern metal-core i.e bands like Wage War, Eera and Currents it’s definitely worth checking out, 7/10
Angstskrig - Skyggespil (Despotz Records) [Matt Bladen]
Featuring the likes of Attila Vörös (Satyricon, Sanctuary, Nevermore, Tyr), Frédéric Leclercq (Kreator, Dragonforce, Sinsaenum), Mathias Lillmåns (Finntroll), Tomas Elofsson (Hypocrisy) and Sylvain Coudret (Soilwork). Mysterious Danish duo Angstskrig have a wide rolodex of acquaintances appear on this debut album, clearly a lot of friends considering they are masked and their identities highly guarded. Skyggespil means Shadow Play in Danish and it sums up the sound of Angstskrig very well, delivered in their native tongue this album is full of Northern Darkness, the extreme metal assault on the record inspired by black n roll luminaries Entombed as they interpret their own sound of raw, ravaged black metal (obviously), but they have grooves, melodic guitars and gloomy atmospheres. The first three tracks are strongly in the black metal vein while Lucifer Kalder is more straight ahead style as Slæbt Gennem Sølet is a much more doomy affair. Skyggespil travels across the howling barren landscapes with a more aggressive style of black n roll than many around. A furious debut from this duo. 7/10
Wristmeetrazor - Replica Of A Strange Love (Prosthetic Records) [Richard Oliver]
It’s been a good long while since I’ve had to suffer through any metalcore but all good things come to an end and ruining this nice long streak of non-generic painfully bad metalcore is Wristmeetrazor with their second album Replica Of A Strange Love. As you can probably tell already I am really not a fan of the metalcore genre. Despite having some promising bands at the genre’s inception it is now a painfully stale, uninspiring and repetitive genre that rarely produces anything new, different, exciting or listenable. Wristmeetrazor are unfortunately one of the worst examples of the metalcore genre it has been my misfortune to listen to as not only do they produce appallingly generic metalcore they incorporate a load of influences from post-hardcore and screamo (another genre that makes me want to feed myself head first into an industrial wood chipper).
The vocals are the worst offender here with screams that sound like a 14 year old having a temper tantrum after having their X-Box confiscated by their parents for bad behaviour and the most obnoxiously whiny clean vocals. If there was meant to be any genuine emotion portrayed in this music then it is absolutely laughable. The riffs are about as memorable as paint drying with a stream of endless chugs and monotonous breakdowns. Even when something half resembling a decent riff comes along it sounds like a piss-weak Machine Head ripoff.
This is easily the worst thing I have listened to so far this year. Metalcore dumbed down so much that is sounds like a bad parody of itself. This album has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever - I’ll give them half a point for writing and performing their own music and half a point for a good production but seriously avoid this at all costs. Now excuse me whilst I pour bleach down my ears to clean them out and smash my head against the wall to induce a concussion that will hopefully make me forget I ever spent time listening to this band. 1/10
This is easily the worst thing I have listened to so far this year. Metalcore dumbed down so much that is sounds like a bad parody of itself. This album has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever - I’ll give them half a point for writing and performing their own music and half a point for a good production but seriously avoid this at all costs. Now excuse me whilst I pour bleach down my ears to clean them out and smash my head against the wall to induce a concussion that will hopefully make me forget I ever spent time listening to this band. 1/10
No comments:
Post a Comment