Hmmm... this is quirky and moderately technical death metal with some elements of metalcore thrown in. Not bad, but it does need some work. The playing is tight and they write some good riffs, but there are some problems as far as the recording and aspects of the songwriting in my opinion. I'll start with the recording and just point at that they're on the right track, but it's way too thin. It sounds like they accidentally took out most of the bass tones from the final mix or something. I can't really hear the bass very well, the drums lack density even though they sound fairly natural, and the guitar tone is crunchy and crisp but also lacks low-end thickness or fluidity in a way. A thicker, fuller sound could make quite a difference here. As for the writing, the songs are aptly succinct, but they don't really hit me at all. I like some of the moderately paced rhythms that use dissonant chord phrasings a lot, and some of the straight heavy stuff is good too, but some of the start/stop riffs get old, the solos tend to be weak, and there's not much feeling to the way the songs are arranged. I like the fact that the vocals are all over the place from ripping screams to slightly lower growls and then some, but I have to say that the singing parts are terrible and really need to go. They have a weird grunge thing going on and stick out like a sore thumb - thus ruining otherwise promising songs like "Archaeopteryx", which uses some faster, thrashy rhythms. The drummer's also pretty good, he does some nice work with cymbals and flashy fills, but I think he might be more suited for a band that's more creative musically than this stuff. I don't know. The layout's not bad. Most of the imagery consists of flame-ish Photoshop effects layered with skeletal/muscle diagrams. The marijuana leaves under the CD tray alongside the thanks lists are a stupid addition that cheapen the overall feel of the CD for me, because they're unnecessary and generic and have nothing to do with any of the other content. There are few other minor nuances I might change, but it looks professional for the most part. As far as the lyrics go, things are pretty abstract: "Invert the past into present brought to the light for the first time. The beast people already know. The shadow history shows stepping into the light evolution into mankind..." In general I just think these songs are too similar to one another. Too many midpaced grooves and start/stop chugging parts, similar vocal patterns and shifts, etc. They have their moments, but it's just not there yet. Whatever they do, they've gotta stop using those singing vocals... and consider that $13ppd is not a fair price for an EP, least of all a self-released EP that's more like an elaborate demo.
[self-released]
Running time - 20:45, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: they've all got good and bad elements, but nothing really hits me]
Only Human - http://www.onlyhumanmusic.com
