They may hail from Syracuse, but this ain't no vegan straightedge hardcore. No... this is burly, pummeling, sludgy metalcore with searing vocal screams, tons of great rhythmic devices from unusual time signatures and extreme shifts in tempo to hard panning and plodding destructiveness, pinch harmonics and divebombs, blazing speeds and caustic noisiness, and then some. I definitely prefer the slower, harder hitting chord progressions to the faster and more chaotic arrangements, but they balance things out well, and the focus is on what I feel are their strengths rather than the riffs that don't particularly add anything to the songs. I like the recording for the most part. The vocals are a bit loud, which can be a hindrance, but it's not a big deal. I love the immensely thickly textured guitars and the distorted bass (which needs to be louder), and despite being overly rigid they've got a fairly good drum sound. The percussion is a little separated from the core of the mix, and it's not nearly as dense or natural as it should be, but it seems to work out. The layout looks pretty damn cool here. The imagery all has to do with frozen landscapes and icebergs and whatnot, including the frozen corpse on the cover, but there are some great textures involved, and the thin layers of metallic gold ink that are overlaid create some nice effects. The lyrics can be hard to read, but the steep angle at which they're slanted is a nice touch. The song titles have that witty and sarcastic ring to them, but the lyrics are better than that, tending to deal with the harsh reality of humanity's impending doom. "Humanity so hellbent on repeating the past burning every unborn generation into a new definition of the word slavery... (if we don't stop) the snake was not the devil it was the true face of man it's all coming back to us now... (if we don't stop) we're gonna be in a bad way..." Not bad at all. They keep things short and to the point without beating you over the head. Imagine Deadguy and Noothgrush beating the shit out of each other while Threadbare's "Feeling Older Faster" plays in the background.
[Blackmarket]
Running time - 15:25, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Solar Powered Sun Destroyer..., It's Hard to Hail a Cab While Holding Yourself at Gunpoint]
Blackmarket Activities - http://www.blackmarketactivities.com
