Sermon "Traitor" 7"
[SuperFi]
Chaotic and grinding metalcore from Germany with a unique approach to thick dissonance. This recording dates back to 1998 and the band is defunct at this point, but I believe the 7" itself has only just recently been released for the first time. Strange, but regardless, expect gruff screaming vocals that are totally indecipherable and music that shifts between blasting speeds and pounding chords with lots of caustic note choices and dissonance involved. "Schwach" is super fast and shreds through in a flash, "Traitor" has some slower passages and a good persistent rhythm, "Tiefschlaf" is very energetic and has some fucked up drum patterns that really stand out (in a good way), etc. The production is ultra thick and needs tweaking, but it is solid. The drums and vocals sound great, while I'm not hearing much in the area of bass, and the guitars could use a little more crunch. It sounds fine in the end, though. I really enjoy the layout, which takes some dirty textures layered over images of cityscapes and gives the appearance of a fiery sort of post-apocalyptic landscape, with lyrics on the inner sleeve (some in German, some in English). The English lyrics are a mix of personal stuff and commentary on the scene and whatnot, so I'm assuming the German text is along similar lines. This isn't the greatest thing I've ever heard, but it's pretty powerful and curious in that it does have a bit of a different twist to this sound going on. It's a shame they broke up, as with more work on the writing they really could've gone somewhere. Also notable is that this is one of those rare records that plays perfectly (though quite differently, of course) at both 33rpm and 45rpm, as I listened to and enjoyed the entire thing at 33rpm before realizing that wasn't even the right speed! Two for one! Ha... I love that. (7/10)
Running time - 7:00 (approximately), Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Traitor, Tiefschlaf]
SuperFi Records - http://go.to/superfi/

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