Sadly, it was just recently that I was introduced to "In the Name of a God": The amazing 2001 debut EP from UK metalcore act (emphasis on the metal) Decimate on the now defunct (I think?) Blackfish Records. It seems pretty damn tough to come by these days, but luckily for me my man XBenX from the totally badass new mp3 blog No Need to Belong was able to score me a copy in no time at all—I don't know how the hell he did it, but thanks! I seriously can't believe I had never heard this shit before either, because it's five tracks and 20 minutes of absolute 90's-styled metalcore perfection. Put it this way: It's comes as no surprise that the band repeatedly chants, "All out war!", during the opening title track, because these jams sound almost eerily similar to the band of the same name. There's a little Arkangel in there too, but better. These cats just kill it on this one. I'm talking nothing but fucking sick, devastating midpaced breaks; moderately fast, chugging rhythms; thick, dissonant riffs with just a smidge of melody; and fierce, snarling vocals. There's a minor hint of death metal happening in there, and very little semblance of actual hardcore, but hey: That's what made this particular niche of "metalcore" so damn great in its heyday! And the recording on this fuckin' thing! I mean, damn! I always thought Dave Chang was pretty hit and miss, but holy shit... this thing sounds totally golden. The guitar tone alone is among the best I've ever heard for this particular style, so I'm just totally floored by this release across the board. Great, great stuff, and totally recommended for those who were super into this kind of thing back in the 90's.
Decimate "In the Name of a God"
Decimate "Regret"
As stated, this overlooked gem is pretty scarce these days, but it seems that the band might have a handful left, so shoot 'em an email and see what happens.
Decimate actually just released their debut full-length in 2006, which I haven't heard in its entirety, but it seems like they went for a faster and even more outright (death) metal-based style that, honestly, I don't enjoy nearly as much as this EP. It seems alright, but a little more commonplace by contemporary standards, and it just lacks the power of the approach they were working with in the beginning. I don't know, you can check out a few tracks on MySpace and see what you think.
You can't fuck with this EP, though... that shit is just phenomenal on every level!
Comments
Awesome!
3.2.2007 | By Carlzilla
Andrew, thanxxx for the props ;) and this shit is killa !!! Now I just have to find myself a copy!!!
3.2.2007 | By xBenx
whoa! i think i just peed my self. thats great shit. very, very good for the genre. iam suprised i never heard of them. hail…..
3.5.2007 | By L.Ron
That EP is definetely the best thing Decimate put out. The album they brought out in 06 sounded like a mix of Caliban and Unearth. They’ve gone a bit quiet since that record.
Sidenote: All the Blackfish Records releases amount to 20 CDs, with the last release being a compilation of hardcore bands doing thrash covers… it was actually very good considering most attempts at bands getting together and doing covers of songs are usually abysmal. The cover art was done by the mighty Ed Repka.
3.6.2007 | By Nail_Bombed
Other good stuff from Blackfish would be the record from Underule - Misfortune Comes By Means Of The Mouth…. which is probably available on amazon.co.uk for minimal amounts of money. And of course the Knuckledust record Time Won’t Heal This.
3.6.2007 | By Nail_Bombed
holy shit. this is pretty crushing, considering the dudes look like a bunch of wankers.
3.6.2007 | By chris
anybody have luck obtaining cd recentley? i contacted them but no response :(
3.7.2007 | By Anonymous