Vendetta "Amici Dei Inemici Mundi" CD
[Superhero]
Fuck yeah! Chunky metallic hardcore from Bulgaria done just the way I like it: Totally in the 90's chugga style with tons of mosh laden grooves, not to mention fuckin' three vocalists! Admittedly all three vocalists have similar sounding strained shouts, so you can't really tell so much that they're trading off lines throughout the tracks. It's cool though, because I like the sneering edge of the vocals, which has an older Sepultura kind of sound to it, and since the lyrics are rarely delivered in English (I assume they're in Bulgarian) that actually adds texture to the vocals as well. From a writing standpoint you should know the drill: Lots of churning midpaced power chords and alternate picking riffs with just the right amount of added metal to keep things moving, and of course a number of crushing breakdowns sure to incite madness in the pit (check out "Behind the Curtains"). The end result sounds a shitload like Fury of Five meets Merauder, and you can't lose with that combo in my book. "Hate City" makes use of tactful stop/start grooves and a couple of quick melodic lead accents (not solos or anything, just quick accents in the distance); "Till I Die" is among the more memorable tracks, tossing in a few more tempos changes alongside a guest vocal appearance from Rick ta Life (doing his best James Ismean impersonation); "Watch Your Back" is a typical hard as nails number with no surprises; and "In My Way", like "Satan's Dance" before it, throws in a couple of lightly thrashy picking patterns that touch on an All Out War kind of influence. Again - you can't really lose there. The recording needs a little work, but I can live with. The rhythm section sounds pretty good, but I'd like to hear the bass come up in the mix a bit more. The real focus area needs to be the guitar tone though, because they've got a nice, dirty edge happening, but I think a thicker and more in your face brand of distortion would've added some immediate impact to these songs. They pull it off in the end, but this fucker could've be a real kick in the teeth for this style of hardcore were the guitar tone a little beefier. I'm digging the layout for the most part since it keeps things streamlined and consistent. Despite the fact that a lot of the vocals are delivered in Bulgarian, all of the lyrics are included in English only, which is a little confusing, but makes it clear that the content is covering your usual topics of keeping it real, loyalty, etc. It's nothing new, but fuck it... what more do you want from this form of classic metalcore? I'm not complaining. I'd like to hear them make more obvious use of the fact that three vocalists are contributing to the tracks, but that's not a big deal at all. Anyone into this particular style of hardcore should hit this one up. I'm really digging this shit and I hope the band continues in this vein. I think these guys have been around for a really long time, but this is my first real exposure to ‘em, so... I'll keep an eye out in the future. That's about it. Short but sweet. (7/10)
Running time - 28:51, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Hate City, Satan's Dance, Till I Die]
Superhero Records - http://www.superherorecords.com

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