This is grinding metalcore with a shitload of furious energy and shifts between scathing screams and eerie singing that almost has an Alice in Chains sort of thing going on (sort of like V.O.D. or something). The songwriting is pretty frantic in its constant riff changes and alterations between vocal styles/arrangements and chugging rhythms, blasting tremolo picked runs, more involved chord progressions, etc. I really like the approach because the songs often just explode with no remorse, and there's a great sense of controlled chaos. The only thing I'm not wild on are the generic dissonant chords and stuff like that, as well as some of the vocal devices. The singing's not so bad, it's just too similar to bands who've done it better, and some of the cackled screams are also a little derivative. "Inheritance" opens with some plunky bass parts against soft clean guitars and then distortion kicks into an almost melodic metal riff that's pretty damn powerful - slower, more sinister, and most effectively utilizing the singing/spoken vocals. "Toppled Spirals" is another one that introduces a few hints at melody and clean passages, and similar such passages in "Flickers of Consciousness Will Consume" are the bright spots in an otherwise blunt and overly lengthy 8+ minute excursion. As far as the production goes it could be better, but I can live with it. The distorted guitars are heavy as fuck, the drums are dense, you can hear the bass, etc. It's rough around the edges and in some ways has a bit of a mid-90's sort of ruggedness to it, so it does need cleaning up to be totally effective, but I don't view it as hindering them in any way. Visually this one's a little plain and uninteresting, but aside from some poor typeface choices on the front and back covers it's not so bad. The lyrics seem pretty involved and slightly abstract, but I really like them a lot because you can glean a hint of the message from bits and pieces without having anything handed to you, and they seem very unusual compared to most. "Before the end, dead rise up, possess your bird of passage, American Made Machines, Sometimes I just wonder what the hell we have done, We're all running in place..." Probably the biggest issue I have with this CD is that it's way too fucking long. There are absolutely five or six tracks here that serve little purpose and simply aren't that strong compared to the fiery bursts of relentless viciousness these guys are capable of. That's not to say that shortening it would perfect anything, as too often the songs that are good still wander into aimlessly frantic or flurried territory, but this is another one where the band has the potential to do a shitload more damage than exemplified by this release. I really like elements of this CD, but I'm finding that the more I listen to it the more irritated I am by the minor little faults in the writing. I'd love to hear a more focused incarnation of this band, without a doubt.
[Ministry of Fire]
Running time - 56:25, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Creating the Enemy, Inheritance, Toppled Spirals]
Ministry of Fire Recordings - [email protected]
