Fit For An Autopsy are one of those bands that have been around for a good while, released a hefty back catalogue and built up a fierce following but have also managed to completely pass me by! Well, that’s about to change because today I have their latest album The Nothing That Is to review, could this be the time they rope me in, and I finally get it?
Everything starts off promisingly enough on Hostage which is a deathcore and djent mix and even manages to throw in some clean vocals to mix up the usual flow of the track and its all done very well and has a polished production that really fills the song out nicely, while its not exactly ground-breaking or anything it is all done very well, Spoils Of The Horde is what Lamb Of God would sound like if they wrote a deathcore song, the rhythms and vocal deliveries are so similar and it gives the song a good edge but I never manage to stop thinking of Lamb Of God throughout the whole song, Savior Of None- Ashes Of All gives us a more urgent thrash/death metal feel while never straying to far from the deathcore chugging and once again there is an interesting use of the clean vocals to add some more emotional depth and to the song.
On Weaker Wolves we get an almighty groove laden track that will stick in the mind for a long time to come as the simplicity is the key here its lack of padding really lets the brutality and bluntness of the song take hold and it’s a real winning formula, the mood then shifts drastically on Red Horizon the heaviness is still present and front & centre but there is also a subtleness here that hasn’t been on show so far and the harmony and atmosphere added into this track is impressive and it has a real low end rumble all the way through that really carries this song forward with power and fury, title track The Nothing That Is just goes for the jugular from the off with crushing djent guitars throwing sharp edged riffs that collide with a hectic drum showing and it is all a cloud of destruction that manages to mix in dark atmospheric textures that help differentiate between the light and darkness in a beautiful way.
Lurch then once again strips everything back and has an ambient and spacey opening with harsh vocals just scratching the surface and it all explodes with a hail of staccato riffs that are once again beautiful in their more simple approach, there are djent rhythms mixed with deathcore chug but nothing takes over and they merge into a staggering, precise and focused attack but they are also never scared to pull back and slow the tempo again, this melee of different styles really makes this track so good. We get back to the more basic deathcore sound on The Lower Purpose and it almost feels like an anti-climax, while there is nothing wrong with the track as such, it just feels maybe to basic in its delivery.
I have said that simplicity has created some awesome parts of this album but this track just misses something, but then Lust For The Severed Head is a barrage of technicality that sweeps away any lingering disappointment as it is just a savage beast of a song that batters you about for just over 3 minutes and leaves you wanting more but, you don’t really get it on The Silver Sun which seems like a bit of an odd one to end one, it’s a slow build for about 2 minutes then just sort of tries to mix everything together for the next 4 and a half minutes, its not a bad track it just ok and ends on a bit of a whimper rather than a bang.
As I previously mentioned, this was my first introduction to Fit For An Autopsy and on this showing, I will definitely be going back and listening to more and also paying attention to future releases as there was a hell of a lot to like on this album and almost nothing to not like, a good showing and if you like your metal to be heavy but varied and your core with a death tinge then The Nothing That Is, will definitely be an album you should check out. 8/10
Mother Of Graves - The Periapt Of Absence (Profound Lore Records)
Death metal and doom metal, 2 genres that if done well can be devastating but if done badly can be tiresome and irritating in equal measure, so to put them together takes a lot of guts and belief in yourself it seems like Mother Of Graves are taking on this challenge and this is their second full length The Periapt Of Absence.
The opening of Gallows is all in on the doom essence and the foreboding and melancholic guitars of Ben Sandman & Chris Morrison feel like the walk to said torture equipment and when the rest of the band kick in there is a melodic and sweeping feel to the music and Brandon Howe’s vocals really cloak the song in blanket of misery and sorrow in the best way to create an epic and bombastic opener, following such a bold opener is not an easy task but Shatter The Visage tops the opener and then some, its has a slow opening that is as doomy as you would like but then the death element is as vicious and savage as you would expect, there is a harrowing and grim feel to the song as a whole and the way that the contrasting moods hit you is phenomenally well done throughout and the guitar work towards the mid-point is absolutely outstanding!
As I previously mentioned, this was my first introduction to Fit For An Autopsy and on this showing, I will definitely be going back and listening to more and also paying attention to future releases as there was a hell of a lot to like on this album and almost nothing to not like, a good showing and if you like your metal to be heavy but varied and your core with a death tinge then The Nothing That Is, will definitely be an album you should check out. 8/10
Mother Of Graves - The Periapt Of Absence (Profound Lore Records)
Death metal and doom metal, 2 genres that if done well can be devastating but if done badly can be tiresome and irritating in equal measure, so to put them together takes a lot of guts and belief in yourself it seems like Mother Of Graves are taking on this challenge and this is their second full length The Periapt Of Absence.
The opening of Gallows is all in on the doom essence and the foreboding and melancholic guitars of Ben Sandman & Chris Morrison feel like the walk to said torture equipment and when the rest of the band kick in there is a melodic and sweeping feel to the music and Brandon Howe’s vocals really cloak the song in blanket of misery and sorrow in the best way to create an epic and bombastic opener, following such a bold opener is not an easy task but Shatter The Visage tops the opener and then some, its has a slow opening that is as doomy as you would like but then the death element is as vicious and savage as you would expect, there is a harrowing and grim feel to the song as a whole and the way that the contrasting moods hit you is phenomenally well done throughout and the guitar work towards the mid-point is absolutely outstanding!
A Scarlet Threnody begins with a beautiful softness and slowly consumes you before a huge wall of sorrow and sadness cascades down directly into your soul and it’s a completely overwhelming way feel, usually death metal can be devoid of feeling and just concentrate on violence but here you feel the emotional nature of everything and it’s just a pleasure to hear such a different take on the genre and the down cast and emotive nature continues on into Apparition with a definite focus on more grandiose doom but thankfully it doesn’t ever forget to be heavy and adds some wonderful melodic death metal sections in just for good measure and once again the way they time the cross overs is wonderful.
The Periapt Of Absence is a perfect amalgamation the of Mother Of Graves sound and distils exactly what they are trying to do in one gloriously dark and thunderous doomy epic the focus is to make the listener uncomfortable and engaged while tearing their heart out of their chest and handing it back to them, the way this music seeps into you is enthralling and captivating, As The Earth Fell Silent almost destroys me with the way it calms and eases you in then grabs your attention and demands to be listened to, the layers and atmosphere are haunting and mesmerizing at the same time yet they still manage to add a viciousness that contrasts and smashes the safety and comfort you were in into a million pieces.
Upon Burdened Hands marches forward with more melodic death metal that has a groove that will stick with you for a long time, this is the stopped dead and drops into an almost dreamlike sequence which provides a spoken word interlude mid song and this allows the listener a brief time to take stock and prepare for the heart wrenchingly heavy end section of the song we are then onto our final song, Like Darkness To A Dying Flame which is of course another absolute monster of a track that once again has the perfect mix of heaviness and sorrow and is a lesson to any doom bands out there that at 6:34 you don’t need 15+ minutes to get a point across, focus on the feeling of a track and concentrate the attack and you can get things done in a decent time and this becomes a perfect way to end this album.
When I first saw this wasn’t sure it would be for me, and I was a bit dubious but how wrong I was! From the very first note until the last rang out it was just perfection, and I cannot fault one thing about it, an utterly fantastic piece of work that any self-respecting metal fan should listen to and embrace. A truly wonderful album. 10/10
Sentient Horror - In Service Of The Dead (Redefining Darkness Records)
Formed in 2016 in Stockholm, New Jersey, not the good one, Sentient Horror are a death metal band with a few releases behind them and from what I can make out In Service Of The Dead is their 4th album and it will be released by Redefining Darkness Records and that ladies and gents is as much as I know!
It doesn’t take long for The Way Of Decay to introduce itself to you it’s a full on blitzkrieg of savage buzzsaw guitars and a blur of thunderous drums that create a thrashy death metal tune and wastes no time in letting you know that there is likely to be absolutely zero subtlety on any of these songs and it all adds up to a decent start to proceedings, as you would expect Undead Mutation doesn’t stray very far from what you expect, its another balls to the wall, everything faster than everything else slab of death metal delivered with and extra side of speed just because they can really, they do slow down slightly at one point and add in some groove to lighten the mood a bit but that’s here and gone in the blink of an eye and its back to business as usual for a breathless start!
When I first saw this wasn’t sure it would be for me, and I was a bit dubious but how wrong I was! From the very first note until the last rang out it was just perfection, and I cannot fault one thing about it, an utterly fantastic piece of work that any self-respecting metal fan should listen to and embrace. A truly wonderful album. 10/10
Sentient Horror - In Service Of The Dead (Redefining Darkness Records)
Formed in 2016 in Stockholm, New Jersey, not the good one, Sentient Horror are a death metal band with a few releases behind them and from what I can make out In Service Of The Dead is their 4th album and it will be released by Redefining Darkness Records and that ladies and gents is as much as I know!
It doesn’t take long for The Way Of Decay to introduce itself to you it’s a full on blitzkrieg of savage buzzsaw guitars and a blur of thunderous drums that create a thrashy death metal tune and wastes no time in letting you know that there is likely to be absolutely zero subtlety on any of these songs and it all adds up to a decent start to proceedings, as you would expect Undead Mutation doesn’t stray very far from what you expect, its another balls to the wall, everything faster than everything else slab of death metal delivered with and extra side of speed just because they can really, they do slow down slightly at one point and add in some groove to lighten the mood a bit but that’s here and gone in the blink of an eye and its back to business as usual for a breathless start!
Mutilation Day begins with an almost melodic opening that is slightly stunted by the guitar tones and doesn’t really sit right but that’s all swept aside by the main part of the song that is about a subtle as a breeze block to the temple, you can feel that there is one aim here and that is to fucking devastate you and for the most part they do a good job and when they insert some of their groove infused riffs the songs really take a better shape, Cadaverous Hordes doesn’t take the foot of the gas for a second and might be the fastest song so far, its thrash backdrop mixes with the relentless nature of the death metal and the playing really is something else, you have to give them credit for that for sure, BUT its already all starting to sound a bit samey throughout and I’m only 4 songs in and not sure how they would change this pattern?
The Tombcrusher does absolutely nothing to make me think oh? This is new!? It is yet another heads down, play fast, do nothing different song, and as I have said I am not going to knock the music as it’s all played so fantastically but sometimes too much of the same thing gets a bit tedious and boring, I’m not bored per se, just waiting for some variety!? Out Of Sanity almost gives me what I want with a bit of a groove metal opener that gets you paying attention but then as expected about 30 seconds later its back to what they know and just sounds like everything else I have already heard, despite all this Glory To The Rotten is an absolute fucking belting track, with its Carcass-like opening and furious and thundering groove infused verse, they finally mix it up a bit and even when they revert to character and start blasting the shit out of everything it still sounds glorious and is without a doubt the album highpoint!
Born In A Morgue doesn’t really follow up or continue the change of styles, annoyingly its back to what they know and what they have done for the vast majority of the album and honestly the same can be said about Feeding On Fear if I hadn’t noticed I would have thought that that last 2 tracks were just one long song as it doesn’t change in tempo or style one iota and predictably In Service Of The Dead also falls into this category to end on a decent but ultimately very predictable way.
They say variety is the spice of life, well everyone apart from Sentient Horror does anyway! While everything on In Service of the Dead is played well and never lost any intensity it was all just too similar for the entire length if the album and I just got a bit frustrated with the familiarity by the end. A decent listen and worth your time, but it won’t be troubling any AOTY lists. 6/10
Saltwound - The Temptation Of Pain (Sharptone Records)
They say variety is the spice of life, well everyone apart from Sentient Horror does anyway! While everything on In Service of the Dead is played well and never lost any intensity it was all just too similar for the entire length if the album and I just got a bit frustrated with the familiarity by the end. A decent listen and worth your time, but it won’t be troubling any AOTY lists. 6/10
Saltwound - The Temptation Of Pain (Sharptone Records)
According to their online presence, Saltwound deftly tame a chaotic hybrid of deathcore and metalcore with earthquaking grooves and insidious melodies and they call this type of noise Norcal Violence apparently? Not sure what they’re on about really but it all sounds angry and heavy enough I suppose?
We All Burn starts everything off in a sort of subdued fashion really, there is all the promise of the heaviness and a metalcore deathy-ness but honestly it just tries too hard for my liking, the chugging riffs are so one dimensional and unenergetic and the squeaks and high-pitched squeals from the guitars are just plain annoying, nothing really improves on Blight either, I can see what they are trying to achieve and there is a whiff of deathcore running through the song but its just so standard and run of the mill it just passes me by and the nu-metal influence that creeps in towards the end.
We All Burn starts everything off in a sort of subdued fashion really, there is all the promise of the heaviness and a metalcore deathy-ness but honestly it just tries too hard for my liking, the chugging riffs are so one dimensional and unenergetic and the squeaks and high-pitched squeals from the guitars are just plain annoying, nothing really improves on Blight either, I can see what they are trying to achieve and there is a whiff of deathcore running through the song but its just so standard and run of the mill it just passes me by and the nu-metal influence that creeps in towards the end.
I can just do without altogether and this runs directly into the next track Empty From The Start which mixes the unnecessary squealing guitars with more mediocre chugging metalcore that does my head in because it just sounds so uninspired and its played out so much you wonder why people even bother anymore.
On Circle The Drain things do improve slightly to begin with as the pace quickens and you can actually appreciate the guitars here, but it doesn’t take long to fall back into the familiar pattern and completely ruin the good start and just let the monotonous chugging take over for the rest of the song and to the surprise of absolutely nobody its more of exactly the same on Temptation Of Pain the main issue here is that you really can’t differentiate between the tracks because they all sound exactly the same and if there was something about the songs that wouldn’t really be too much of an issue but the fact that these songs are as bland as a cardboard sandwich really doesn’t help.
We have now reached the hallway mark of this album and Hollow is just another example of how to try and execute anger and totally miss the mark, the mixing of electronic nu-metal tinged guitars interspersed with a constant barrage of mediocre chugging beatdowns is just really, really, really boring now and I think the vocalist has now said motherfucker more than anyone in the history of saying motherfucker has ever said it.
I really don’t know how else to describe Walking The Blade without saying listen to any of the previous 6 tracks and you have already heard this done, it just feels like one long track at this point and I really don’t know what the next 3 tracks will offer in the way of a saving grace? Ok, so I listened to The Righteous Hand, Ensnared & Severance and I am sorry, but as predicted they offered absolutely no variation on the already played out and tiresome formula.
There are a few words I could use to describe this album, boring, tedious, annoying, unoriginal and there are many more. I have said this before, and I will say it again there must be a call for this music somewhere, maybe? 2/10
There are a few words I could use to describe this album, boring, tedious, annoying, unoriginal and there are many more. I have said this before, and I will say it again there must be a call for this music somewhere, maybe? 2/10
No comments:
Post a Comment