Vegas "Wake" CD
[Superhero]
Here's the debut full-length from this vicious and over the top German metalcore act that's highly influenced by Integrity as well as G.I.S.M. (I would not compare the end result to either of those bands too heavily, though), so expect shitloads of vocal layering with tons of throat-searing screams, heavy power chord rhythms, chaotic solos, and a generally dark, disturbed atmosphere. The raw recording is really the only thing holding them back, as the vocals are fairly overpowering throughout most of the work, and the guitars can sound flat compared to the drums, which are a bit louder. The bass gets lost as well, but my main concern is the fact that the guitars aren't dominant enough, so they need a more effective mix to really harness their power and let more of the details to the layering show through. Many of the songs sound similar to one another overall, with some loose avant-garde tangents (ala Death in June meets experimental noise) seeping in on occasion to add more character to the songs. For example, "Fruition" uses acoustic guitars and whispered vocals over distant melodies for an almost apocalyptic folk sort of sound, and "Cure My Heart From Beating" opens with detuned drones over pulsing bass and odd spoken passages with lots of panning effects. "Feel the Leash" is slower and has more of a pounding rhythm with some maniacal vocal layering that definitely comes unhinged at times, which is pretty effective; and there are of course more straightforward tracks such as "Delirium's Realm" and "Wake". "Final Incision" (written and performed by former Pale Creation guitarist Matt Shack) is one of the longest songs and consists of nothing but beautiful acoustic guitars, distant leads, and faintly whispered vocals - by far one of the slickest sounding and most interesting pieces herein; and "Rhythm of Decline" (despite opening with a generic "Apocalypse Now" sample) builds up into a rather chaotic affair that features guest vocals from Dwid himself (with more guitar work from Matt Shack). The last track is an unlisted piece called "Sagevisule", created by Never Presence Forever using the band's demo as source material, closing the disc with just under six minutes of minimal dark ambient drones, faint distortion and manipulated vocals starting to seep in towards the latter chunk of the piece. The layout could be a bit stronger but does have some strong imagery and text, with lots of abstract textures and a bit of metallic silver ink to spruce things up. Lyrically the tracks are quite abstract but hit on a lot of concepts that I can definitely appreciate: "This mind knows no hope, Entries of confusion, Nights stricken with regret, Reasons in deletion, Hanging by a thread, Abundance seeking union with emptiness, Pray to the heavens for what cannot be found to deliver you from the hell you created..." It's odd that unless my eyes deceive me the title of the CD doesn't appear anywhere on the packaging for some reason, but a very tiny image of Boss Hogg does present itself in the corner of the spine!? All in all this CD does need work, but I'm a fan of the band's sinister and tormented approach. While not entirely original there are a lot of creative opportunities for the band, and the vocals are certainly admirable in intensity. So if they can nail down the recording they'll do some serious damage in the future, and I'll look forward to hearing more. (7/10)
Running time - 36:59, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Delirium's Realm, Fruition, Feel the Leash, Final Incision]
Superhero Records - http://www.superherorecords.com

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