The Power & The Glory "Call Me Armageddon" CD
[Deathwish]
I believe this band was formerly called Downpour, and I enjoyed what I heard from them at that time. This is along similar lines, but definitely tighter and more ferocious. Expect blistering metalcore of the chaotic variety, but with far more acerbic vocal screams, more intricate changes and riffing, and stronger songwriting that fluidly transitions between parts and maintains a frantic vibe without abandoning structure or coherency. It's really nothing new per se, granted they do toss in a few unexpected twists (the sludgy sort of churning rhythms in the title track, for example), but it all boils down to songwriting and intensity, and they've got a firm grip on both. They're definitely all over the place, though. From crushing breakdowns or dissonant melodies to ripping tremolo picking, thick and meandering note patterns, flat out grinding metal, quick bursts of caustic chords higher up on the neck, pull-off runs, etc. - you'll get a little of everything. The tracks range in length from barely a minute to more than six or seven as well, so there's a hell of a lot going on. "High Winds & Heavy Seas" opens with somber clean guitars and a soft and lightly distorted vocal sample in the distance, but when you expect things to explode forth they don't, instead coming in with pulsing bass and spoken vocals - not bringing in distortion to amp things up until significantly later in the track, making for a thoroughly ass kicking surprise. Portions of "East (There is Such a Lot of World to See)" get pretty dark with the vocals filtered and mixed deep into the music as it becomes slower and more discordant in tone, leading into the epic closer "Year of the Fear", building slowly with ringing arpeggiated passages that eventually introduce vocals and choppier spurts with erratic drum blasts and an all too brief sludge riff that sounds like some killer Louisiana action (think Eyehategod meets Down). Kurt Ballou handled the production and as usual when his name's on it I'm a fan. Everything's loud as fuck with lots of gritty texture to the distortion (as well as the searing vocals), the drums sound dry and natural, the mix is abrasive without lacking detail/emphasis, etc. I'd like to hear the bass tone given slightly more definition so as not to get lost in its droning qualities so often, but you can hear it, and things interact well for the most part, so I'm not calling a strike against anything here. The layout looks quite good, as damn near every Deathwish release does, with lots of high contrast artwork that follows a strict color palette and uses shitloads of spattered textures. There's very little text on the outer packaging, and what text does appear is usually an actual part of the artwork itself, sans the lyrics and whatnot inside the booklet. Lyrically the songs are personal and are presented in a pretty solid manner that's both open and somewhat pointed, at times using subtly sarcastic or witty song titles that don't necessarily apply to the tone of the content. "Blow a kiss goodbye. They've spun a crown of moths for the man in the moon and an endless string of seasons for the lotus to be in bloom. They brought in patron saints, parlor tricks, and idiotic ideas of perfection to keep us groveling and gasping, gagging and grasping with a carrot just beyond an arm's length and a barrel drilled into our backs..." Good work. I like it more than I anticipated, in fact. I'd estimate that this band is going to ripen nicely with time, so fans of this style should take note now and enjoy the ride. (7/10)
Running time - 35:57, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Call Me Armageddon, High Winds & Heavy Seas, Year of the Fear]
Deathwish Inc. - http://www.deathwishinc.com

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