37 Stabwoundz "Embrace Solitude" CD
[Garden of Exile]
Not fuckin' bad. Vicious metalcore out of The Netherlands that has much more of a groove than most of this stuff, leaning towards a Machine Head/Pantera style of metal mixed with ultra heavy 90's styled NYHC mosh, and throwing in some gruff singing vocals along with the midrange sneers to add variety to the material and give the band their own edge. The production kicks ass, too. Super dense with a killer guitar tone and a really cohesive mix that blends the vocals right in against the music. The basslines aren't that prominent and the drums could use more warmth, but the way things are mixed it sounds fine and the crunchy distortion of the guitar tone is fucking awesome. The songs all run three to four minutes and stick with moderate tempos, at times messing with stuttered rhythms and straight metal riffs as opposed to basic chugga chugga chords (which are definitely in place as well). Like their fellow countrymen Stone Cold, a lot of this stuff kind of reminds me of Merauder, but these guys definitely throw more of their own twist into the mix to keep things interesting. "Vendetta!" has some thrashier riffing and almost leans towards an unexpected nu-metal vibe during the chorus due to the vocals, but throughout the entire record the scattered instances of singing are the only real melody present. Very rarely do any of the guitar parts lighten up to let a little melody seep in. "Blade in the Chamber" picks up the pace a little more than the other material, while "Breathing to Expire" breaks it down with a sludgy rock 'n' roll tinged riff at one point - so there's definitely more than average going on with this one. But there are still plenty of tracks that keep it heavy and consistent with just the right amount of groove (just check out "Flesh and Blood") - they're not straying too far from the path or trying to rewrite any books, you know? The layout's pretty good, maintaining a consistent aesthetic with dark photography brandishing images of razorwire, bullet casings, the band, etc. The lyrical content varies from aggressive calls for perseverance and standing up for yourself to lashing out at your enemies, drug wars, etc. There are some somewhat cheesy lines here or there on the more violent side, but overall I'm okay with the lyrics as it's all your pretty usually metallic hardcore stuff. I really like this CD, though. It's not innovative, but I do have to give these guys credit for standing out from a lot of the other European metalcore bands that I come across (and make no mistake, I think the European scene is still a hotbed for this style, they're kicking America's ass all over the place), so I'll look forward to checking out their future efforts. I'm all over this one, they're right on the mark. (7/10)
Running time - 28:48, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Flesh and Blood, Blade in the Chamber, Indisposed]
Garden of Exile Records - http://www.gardenofexile.nl

This review has been displayed 2386 times.