Animosity "Shut it Down" CD
[Tribunal]
Hmmm. This one's a tossup. On the one hand it's sort of generic metalcore that leans way in the metal direction, and on the other hand it's a bit better than average because it's got a brutal death metal influence going on, and the guitar playing is way tighter than most bands of this nature. The vocals are generally midrange screams with some higher cackles and sick growls happening too, and the music is mildly technical death metal with a little bit of melody, chugga chugga breakdowns, some dissonant rhythmic elements, etc. The recording is so-so. The drum sound is the one thing that annoys me. They're not horrible, but the kick drums sound weird, and some of the rigidity makes things sound really unnatural and machinated (more so in terms of actual performance than tone). I can't make out an ounce of bass, but the guitar tone is usually pretty fucking heavy. On rare occasion the guitars lose some of their punch (minor inconsistencies), but I like the guitar tone and the vocals in most instances. They're not an original band, but they do have some good songwriting going on. Nothing tops three minutes, so they keep it moving without fucking around, and a lot of the breakdowns work well with the melodic Swedish styled riffing (and it's worth noting that the Swedish influences are very well handled here, it's not just tremolo picking nonsense). I could do without the senseless discordant chords and shit, but it's no big deal. I like how all of the graphics in the layout, including the color images, are done in a high contrast style. The text is also cleanly laid out, so everything looks nice and crisp. As far as content, the songs are a mix of personal and somewhat political messages, dealing with anything from depression and anger to greed and revolt. The lyrics aren't great, but I've definitely seen worse. "Trapped in a society where guilt and greed reign, Our world totes hatred with only our brothers to blame, Thousands die, millions cry, Waiting in their homes to absorb the lies, Too far gone from our moral blood, We have run away..." Not bad. Clean up the sound a tad, have the drummer get as tight as the guitarists, and you've got yourself something strong to work with there. (6/10)
Running time - 22:28, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: 24 More, Anti-Kingdom, Terminal Existence]
Tribunal Records - http://www.tribunalrecords.net

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