Walls of Jericho "All Hail the Dead" CD
[Trustkill]
Sweet. I'm glad this band got back together because their last record was really good, and they've still got some damage to deliver, as evidenced here. I wouldn't say I enjoy this quite as much as the last one, but it's got a stronger recording, and the songs are still pissed as hell. For the uninitiated, expect scathing vocal screams and a fucking boatload of chugga chugga styled chord progressions that often create entire songs out of breakdown parts. There's definitely a 90's European metalcore flare to a lot of the more metallic riffs that bring in the whole note-based Slayer influences and stuff, but they do some branching out as well. "There's No I in Fuck You" drops a lot of discordant chords mixed in with some faster old school styled progressions with a hint of melody, "A Little Piece of Me" churns out plenty of total thrash metal riffs, "Revival Never Goes Out of Style" is faster and layers sick screams with some singing (including some oddly out of place "whoa ohhh" backing vocals), "Thanks for the Memories" kicks out a few (dare I say) Pantera sounding jams (and yes, I mean that in a good way), and "To be Continued..." closes the disc with some lightly distorted clean guitars and eerily sustained lead melodies. Most of the tracks run about two to three minutes so they blaze right through with no bullshit. The only slight rests come when the singing vocals kick in every now and then, though honestly I really find the singing to be ineffective 95% of the time (especially during "More Life in the Monitors", where the singing basically ruins an otherwise killer track). As mentioned earlier, the recording is really damn nice with this one. It's clearer than the last record, but just as heavy because the bass really thickens up the lower spectrum and lets the crunchiness of the guitars have room to breathe. The vocals rest perfectly against the music, and the percussion has a natural sort of warmth, but it's still crisp and has a snap to it. The layout's nice and clean with a consistent color scheme and all that. I actually like the artwork a lot, but it really doesn't fit the album at all, just as far as the general style is concerned (as opposed to the subject matter, which does draw some parallels). Aside from one or two songs that have more of a slight socio-political sort of lean, the lyrics are bitter personal expressions of the usual ordeals of being judged, betrayed, etc. This is a great record. Those metal fans who despise the very notion that "metalcore" exists shouldn't pass this one by without giving it a shot first, because the performances are tight as hell, and this shit is just pissed. I'm all for it. There are a handful of weak tracks that snag things up a tad, but for the most part it's a rager. (7/10)
Running time - 35:01, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: A Little Piece of Me, Through the Eyes of a Dreamer, Thanks for the Memories, Fixing Broken Hearts]
Trustkill Records - http://www.trustkill.com

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