The Assailant "s/t" CD
[Black Matter]
Ehhh... no thanks. I just can't get into this style of chaotic and caustic metalcore very often, and these guys aren't doing it for me. Expect short songs of around a minute each with lots of discordant note runs, caustic chords, flurries of speed, midrange screaming vocals often layered with lower growls, some slower breaks (but nothing even remotely in the chugga vein at all), and a crusty sort of looseness to the performances. Things definitely get a little sloppy sometimes, but not enough to where I'd be bothered if I liked the songwriting - I think that messy edge kind of makes sense with this style. But honestly, the only thing I consistently like about this are the vocals. They just fit, and the layering between the two styles is cool. The songs, though? I'm not a fan. It's all rather typical and boring. Nothing hits me as powerful in the least. A strong run here or there, sure, but... nothing sticks around that long, and there's no complete song that wins me over at all. The softer guitars and distant screaming in "Auditing" are fucking awesome, but the rest of the track still basically stinks to me. I'm just really burnt out on this style. I was never into it to begin with, but so few bands are doing anything of worth with it, and I honestly find nothing of value in the mere nine minutes of material they churn out on this thing. The production is okay. On the dirty side, which also makes sense, but effective. The drums sound pretty good, the vocals are mixed deep in against the music, the guitars are heavy but pretty biting with texture, and you can pick out the bass parts oftentimes. It works. The packaging looks nice and consistent, printed on matte paper with lots of high contrast imagery and jumbled text arrangements. The booklet opens from the center of the cover to reveal the lyrics as one big mass amidst the song titles, sort of streamed together in legible pieces but not necessarily anything concrete, and the band includes a statement about how people tend to generalize and make assumptions - welcoming any questions or comments on their work. Many phrases jump out though, so there are some pretty bitter ideas in place: "We are what we have chosen...", for example. So... I'm into the appearance and the lyrics that I can pick out, but I don't like the songs at all. I don't know what else to say. This is one of those bands that's like, you know: Heard one, heard most of 'em. There are better bands out there playing in a very similar vein, and there are tons of bands out there right at this same mediocre level (sans the cool packaging and strong lyrics, which can't save this particular effort). Not my thing. (5/10)
Running time - 8:46, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: I don't like any one song in particular]
Black Matter - http://www.blackmatterrecords.com

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